Touched by Sin
by Erin Primette
Summary: AU After 10 years have passed since a tragic incident has occured, Yuna finds hidden courage from within as she begins her pilgrimage as a summoner. Along the way, she will fight both battles, with one battle occuring inside of herself. With guidance from Sin, Yuna discovers some secrets that are a lot more sinister than imagined. Contains bloody violence and some sexual crap.
1. Prologue

I have loved Final Fantasy X as a kid. I was inspired by Alice: Madness Returns to write this fanfic, you see.

This chapter is just the prologue to the story.

_{This is spoken in Sin's telepathy.}_

Final Fantasy X belongs to Square Enix, not me!

* * *

Yuna had a decent life as a child in her earlier years in her life; maybe even more decent than most other children. There were a few occasions when Sin would come by Bevelle. When that happens, Yuna would often dash towards the coast to say hello to him. She even played in the water, not minding Sin's presence. She would even climb up onto his back to get a good view on the city of Bevelle.

Of course, when she was 8, her father, Braska, left for his pilgrimage as a summoner, along with Sir Auron and a man named Jecht. During that day, Yuna climbed onto Sin's back, as he was visiting at that time. For a good while, Yuna observed her father and his guardians heading out of Bevelle until they were nowhere to be seen. By that time, Yuna had fallen asleep. Sin soon left Bevelle, unaware that Yuna was still on top of him. When he got to the Moonflow, he noticed that Yuna was still asleep on top of him. He carefully lowered Yuna onto the ground and nudged her until she woke up. She was rather surprised, but soon learned that he was more surprised than she was. Sin eventually took her home to Bevelle and apologized to her mom.

It's been a few days since her father left. Yuna soon noticed a Guado named Nero starting to visit her home. During his first visit, he introduced himself to the girls before kissing Kotonia's hand before having a conversation with her mom. Her mother stated that she and Nero are going to be discussing about various economical commerce. However, Yuna did not like the way he stared at her sister.

A day after Bevelle celebrated the completion of Braska's Final Summoning. Yuna, her sister and their mother had to attend Braska's funeral. During the procedures, Yuna's tears welled up in her eyes as she stood before her father's casket with her older sister, Kotonia on her side.

After a long while, Yuna noticed that a few of their friends had been disappearing over time, prompting her to investigate. She went undercover as a boy one day to sneak into a bustling brothel, where only boys and men were allowed in. To her surprise, the brothel displayed young girls of various ages, including a few of her friends, being forced to wear skimpy clothes and pose in provocative positions, which probably meant that they have become sex slaves. While Yuna was secretly recording this disturbing display, one of the sex slaves refused to let one of the customers touch her and even openly defied him. Enraged, her pimp forced her before a Grendel. Yuna couldn't take in any further witness of abuse as she yelled at them to stop. After the outburst, the manager kicked her out; still unaware that she was disguised.

Later that evening, Yuna was overjoyed when Sin arrived at the coast of Bevelle. She snuck out of her house to meet up with him. After coming across each other, Yuna deliberately told Sin everything about the brothel she snuck into, and how the abuse that went on in there was so terrible to watch. She even gave him the evidence recorded on the sphere. Of course, Sin was pretty much shocked by this information, and then he explained to her that the abuse she witnessed was unacceptable. The next day, her family noticed on the broadcasting news flash stating that Sin had destroyed the brothel.

Yuna was getting ready for bed one night. The endeavor was suddenly interrupted when she heard a knock on her bedroom door. It was her older sister, Kotonia, who came in while holding a sphere.

"Yuna," said Kotonia, "I have something that I really need to tell you."

Yuna nodded. She already noticed that there were some blood stains on Kotonia's thighs; she assumed that something bad has happened. As Kotonia sat down on Yuna's bed, she began recording the sphere. Then, she explained to Yuna about everything Nero did to her: starting from the time after Braska left for his pilgrimage, when Nero creepily kissed Kotonia's hand, and another time when Nero forcibly kissed her in the library, and ending when he raped her on the day that Sin destroyed the brothel. After explaining everything to Yuna, Kotonia stopped the sphere's recording as she was already in tears.

"That's terrible!" exclaimed Yuna, "you _**shouldn't**_ deserve to go through this."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier," sobbed Kotonia, "but you are the only one I can trust."

"But why me?" asked Yuna, "What about Sir Auron or even mother?"

"They wouldn't believe me," answered Kotonia.

"Kotonia…"

Soon, Kotonia started crying, which prompted Yuna to embrace her in comfort. Kotonia calmed down after a little while.

"Yuna," said Kotonia, "I have a favor to ask of you."

Yuna raised her eyebrows in curiosity.

"Could you please take this to Sin?" requested Kotonia, holding out the sphere, "and tell him about Nero? But please don't tell anyone else."

"We could tell Sin together," replied Yuna, "why don't we tell him tomorrow?"

Kotonia shook her head.

"I can't. Nero would know that I told if I did."

"But Nero did this horrible thing to you, right?" replied Yuna, "you can't just let him get away with it!"

"I know," replied Kotonia, "but…"

Kotonia then left the room, leaving the sphere in Yuna's hands. Yuna then tucked the sphere into her pocket of her pajamas. She definitely knew that there was something fishy with Nero since Braska left for his pilgrimage, but she hadn't thought that Nero would do such a terrible thing as this.

"_I guess I should tell Sin about Nero,"_ thought Yuna, _"I'm sure he'll do something about it."_

Yuna eventually tucked into bed. After an hour or so, she suddenly heard screaming as if someone was in danger. Yuna instantly leaped out of bed and quietly sped towards Kotonia's room, while she started to record additional footage into the sphere she was carrying. It wasn't long before she gaped in surprise and horror from what she glanced at:

Nero was raping her sister and he showed no signs of stopping. Soon, Yuna felt her anger burning up within.

"LEAVE MY SISTER ALONE!"

Nero stopped and turned his head towards Yuna before quickly pulling out a pocket knife. As Yuna burst into the bedroom, Nero wasted no time as he repeatedly stabbed Kotonia. But then, Nero was suddenly interrupted as Yuna began pummeling him with her fists, triggering him to smack Yuna across the face and throw her down onto the ground. Then, without hesitation, Nero pulled out a lighter and started to set various furniture on fire as Yuna got up to rush to her sister's aid. However, when she reached Kotonia, she was too late…

"Kotonia," cried Yuna, "NO!"

Kotonia is dead. Tears started to well up in Yuna's eyes, but her moment of silent grief was suddenly interrupted when she smelled smoke in the room, causing her to look around. Nero wasn't in the room anymore, but the flames that Nero ignited are starting to spread quickly. Sensing that she is in danger, Yuna stopped the sphere's recording before dashing out of Kotonia's room. She started heading for the master bedroom to wake up mother and spread the alarm. But as she sped through the hall, she noticed that there were even more flames spreading all over the house.

To make matters worse, the door to the master bedroom was completely blocked by flames, as Yuna can already hear her mother shrieking in fear and agony; yet, she reached out her hand in an attempt to open the door, burning her hand in the process. After managing to open the door, Yuna then jumped through the flames, only to find that her mother is also dying from the flames. Yuna wasted no time as she attempted to rush to her mom's aid. Suddenly, a piece of burning debris landed on top of Yuna, pinning her to the floor on her stomach. The scorching flames had Yuna screaming in pain as she felt like her back was scorching. That didn't stop her from struggling free, though. Holding the sphere tightly in her grip, Yuna sped towards the window, opened it, and jumped out. She made a rough landing on the grass, yet she continued crawling a few feet from the inferno.

Yuna made it out barely alive as she turned to face her home that is now burning to the ground. Horror and grief heavily struck her as she visualized the rest of her family; her mother, her sister, dying in agony as they were unable to escape. Tears began to well up as she knew she would never see them again. Soon, minutes have passed, and the fire was starting to spread beyond her home, threatening to incinerate Bevelle to the ground. Yuna was given no choice but to get away from the expanding blaze before it kills her. Unfortunately, the fire was starting to expand rapidly, and the flames were now starting to damage nearby houses, sending Bevelle into chaotic turmoil.

After Yuna barely made it to the coast of Bevelle, she used the water's reflection and the moonlight to inspect her wounds as she was already starting to feel agonizing pain. She was horrified to notice multiple burns over most of her body. To make matters worse, her heaviest injury was a severe burn on her back. How will everyone in Spira take the news of the incident; especially Sir Auron? As thoughts poured into her head, Yuna suddenly heard a call which sounded like a combination of a whale with a siren and wind. Upon hearing that sound, Yuna instantly lifted her head to listen for the source. Then she gaped in bewilderment:

It was Sin.

It was apparent that Sin must've sensed the danger in Bevelle as he emerged from the ocean about several miles away. Without hesitation, Sin summoned a few powerful tidal waves to hit the coast of Bevelle a few times, which sent enough water into the air and onto the flames. After what seemed to be an hour, the last of the waves sent enough water inland to extinguish the fire completely. But then, Sin was already approaching Bevelle, causing folks to spread the alarm.

Yuna tried to stand up, but pain instantly surged through one of her legs, forcing her to the ground again. It was even more puzzling when Sin noticed her presence. Yuna recoiled in pain as he approached even closer.

_{Yuna, is that you?}_ asked Sin.

Yuna nodded, as she noticed that Sin was directly speaking with her.

_{Could you explain to me what has happened?}_

Sadly, Yuna didn't answer. But that didn't stop Sin from leaning in to inspect her carefully. As he used a tip of his fin to lift her arm, she was too frightened to scream or even try to get away. Suddenly, she remembered the conversation she had with Kotonia just before the fire. She pulled out the sphere from her pocket and held it out before Sin. He didn't hesitate to scoop it out of Yuna's hand as he continued to inspect her. He noticed that she was covered in burns, including a heavy one on her back. Sin immediately took her into his shell; determined to save her life.

Sin was able to restore Yuna back to health while protecting her for a month. He then released her in Luca, where Auron took her to Besaid Island with Kimahri Ronso.


	2. Chapter 1: Becoming a Summoner

Guess what, readers? This is the official first chapter of this fanfic! And just to let you know, this is going to contain some elements of Alice: Madness Returns, ok?

_{This is spoken in Sin's telepathy.}_

Final Fantasy X belongs to Square Enix. Not me!

* * *

_**10 years later…**_

"You want to become a summoner?!"

Yuna hated going to those hypnosis sessions. During this session, Yuna felt torn as her mind went through witnessing of worlds falling apart in a bloody river with amorphous creatures with faces of dolls attacking her. Within her mind, she vowed to never attend any of these sessions ever again as she glared at the village psychiatrist; she was certain that he was hired by Nero.

"Anything is better than _**this**_," retorted Yuna.

"Do you think I will let you make such decisions as this," disagreed the psychiatrist, "you have a long way to eliminate the most unproductive of memories, don't you?"

Yuna shook her head.

"I'd rather not," said Yuna, "I can solve the past by myself."

Yuna quickly got out of her seat and burst out the door with no regrets. She has had enough of being manipulated into letting go of her past against her own wishes. She soon noticed another troubled child timidly entering the door to her session. Later that day, Yuna talked to Patravi and Kimahri about her decision about becoming a summoner. Then Wakka and Lulu confronted her about the decision. She was able to persuade them to understand the motive behind her decision. Of course, Yuna would often help others in the community of Besaid whenever she's not in her occasional catatonic depression. She learned some basic helpful spells in this manner over her years. The following day, she, Patravi, Wakka, Lulu and Kimahri entered the Cloister of Trials in the temple.

It all started in one chamber that seemed to be a dead end. However, Yuna noticed that there was a glyph on the end as she approached it to activate it. It then revealed another glyph on the other wall. When she examined it, it revealed some stairs. This propelled them to descend the stairs and come across a Glyph Sphere along the wall. Patravi removed the sphere from the overhang as Yuna led her guardians to the door. Patravi inserted the sphere into the slot, which opened the door. After that, they meandered through the hallway until they came across a pedestal on one side of the hall and some runes across the pedestal. Kimahri touched the runes, which revealed a glyph, and soon, a hidden chamber was open. Inside, a Besaid Sphere was residing in its recess. Yuna extracted it before placing it onto the pedestal. When that happened, the wall disintegrated. Then, Yuna and Patravi pushed the pedestal further into the hall until it locked into a slot on the floor and sank.

"I hope you know what you're doing," remarked Patravi.

As an elevator platform was revealed, Yuna and her guardians moved onto it. It wasn't long before it descended into the antechamber, where the Chamber of Fayth awaited. Yuna started ascending the stairs, only to notice that her guardians were staying at the bottom.

"Aren't you coming?" asked Yuna.

"Sorry, Yuna," responded Patravi, "you're on your own on **_this_** one."

"What?"

"We can't go in the chamber with you," explained Wakka, "that's taboo!"

"I see…"

It turns out that Yuna had no choice as she entered the chamber on her own. Inside, she came across a vivid spring in the center. As Yuna approached it, the Esper, Valefor, emerged from the spring.

"So," said Valefor, "you must be the daughter of Lord Braska?"

Yuna nodded.

"I see," clarified Valefor, "Sin told me all about you. But, why would you desire to become a summoner?"

"The culprit behind the fire is still out there," voiced Yuna, "I want to avenge my sister for what he did to her. I'm sure it would be easier if I simply became a summoner."

"Oh really?" mused Valefor, "in that case, let me inform you that there is a dangerous threat that will interfere with your pilgrimage."

Yuna raised her eyebrows in curiosity.

"An infernal train has been unleashed by Yevon," warned Valefor, "it can infest the minds of summoners at any time, bringing out their worst of their memories. Should you come across the train, you must defend yourself from the creatures that spawn from it. These fiends can drain your life to the point of insanity. Sin would not like it if he were to lose you."

"I see," acknowledged Yuna, "I'll be careful, then."

Valefor finally imbued Yuna's spirit with his. Overjoyed, she got up and headed for the door and emerged from the chamber; while Wakka, Lulu, Patravi and Kimahri were eagerly waiting for her.

"I've done it," announced Yuna, "I have become a summoner!"

Soon, Yuna and her guardians came out of the temple, to find that they were greeted by the entire community folk of the island. She headed out into village square, ready to demonstrate her new abilities.

"Ya ready?" asked Wakka.

Yuna nodded.

She then performed the dance that Valefor taught her, and soon, Valefor arrived at the village of Besaid. As Yuna went up to stroke Valefor's beak, she smiled at him; which told him that she knew exactly what she was doing. With a nod, Valefor flew off. Later that evening, Yuna received a cup of tea from one of the elderly ladies while Patravi spoke with Wakka and his team. After the night celebration, Yuna and her guardians went to bed to rest up for the pilgrimage tomorrow morning.

* * *

**_Yuna found herself in what seems to be a tranquil valley. She wandered through the valley along the coast of a lake while some pieces of her memory played in her mind._**

_**"Yuna, remember when Sin left Bevelle while you were sleeping on his back? He was more surprised than you were when he found you!" stated Kotonia.**_

_**After a while, Yuna suddenly noticed that certain sections of the valley started to become infested with seemingly lethal muck as evil creatures taking the form of parasites begin infesting the area. She then came across a small sword just a few feet ahead. Yuna wasted no time as she picked it up and started fighting back at the monstrous creatures. With every slash of the blade, blood spurted all over the place. She was eventually forced to move on as she noticed that a path was set for her to follow. This surreal journey is just the beginning.**_

* * *

Suddenly, Yuna woke up; it was a dream.

Today was the day that her pilgrimage began. Yuna wasted no time as she got dressed and ate her breakfast which was on the end table in her room. When she finished, she noticed a small blue blade, which was the same blade that she noticed in her dream. Yuna placed it in her pocket before heading outside, where her guardians were waiting. Meanwhile, Wakka was giving Patravi a blue sword.

"Uh, Wakka," queried Patravi, "didn't this sword belong to Chappu?"

"Well," answered Wakka, "he never used it."

"Chappu?" chirped Yuna.

"Do you remember what happened to Chappu?" reminded Lulu, "he was crushed by the forbidden machina and his body was left on the Djose shore."

"Oh, I get it."

As Yuna and her guardians left the village, they came across some fiends. One of these was a Dingo, which Patravi slashed at it with her sword.

"How's that?"

Soon, a Condor flew in.

"A flyer?" gabbed Wakka, "my kind of customer!"

Wakka whacked the Condor with his Blitzball, killing it. It wasn't long before a Water Flan appeared.

"That looks like trouble…" uttered Wakka.

"I'll handle it," declared Yuna.

"Do you remember the spells that I taught you?" reminded Lulu.

"I do," answered Yuna.

Of course, Lulu taught Yuna the basics of Black Magic and the elements. Fire melts Ice, Ice freezes Water and Water puts out Fire. Lightning is also effective against Water. In addition, Lightning electrifies Wind, Wind erodes Earth, and Earth resists Lightning. Since the Water Flan is a water type fiend, Yuna can either electrify it or freeze it.

"Do I hear thunder?"

With a wave of her staff, lightning crashed down upon the water fiend, killing it within an instant.

"You know what?" mused Patravi, "you'd make a **_better_** black mage than Lulu would!"

"Excuse me?" barked Lulu.

The rest of the journey to the beach was pretty much a frazzle. Soon, Kimahri joined up with the group as they arrived at the beach.

"There you are, Kimahri," snipped Patravi, "where _**were**_ you this morning?"

Kimahri didn't answer. Yuna and her guardians continued towards the boat, and most of the villagers were standing before the dock.

"Lady Yuna," said a boy with a green headband, offering a Remedy, "don't forget me, ok?"

"I won't," acknowledged Yuna, accepting the boy's offer.

"We'll miss Lady Yuna," said a little girl, "come back soon, ok?"

"Don't worry," replied Patravi, "we'll be back soon enough!"

After saying goodbye to the villagers, Yuna and her guardians boarded the S.S. Liki. The Aurochs also came along. It wasn't long before the boat pulled away from the dock as Yuna performed the prayer of Yevon before the villagers.

"Goodbye."

So far, the trip to Kilika Island was pretty tranquil. Yuna has been standing on the bow for a long while as she thought about her past. The long silence was soon broken when Patravi came on the bow.

"Hey, Yuna," sang Patravi, "what's up?"

"Well," chuckled Yuna, "the wind is nice today."

"I agree," commented Patravi, "I'm rather surprised that you decided to become a summoner just like your dad."

"Well," replied Yuna, "your father was my father's guardian, wasn't he; you know, Sir Auron?"

Patravi laughed.

"What?"

"It's kinda funny when you still remember my dad," said Patravi, "despite having not seen him for 10 years. Do you think this meeting is the blessing of Yevon?"

"Well," frowned Yuna, "Yevon did not save my family from the fire."

"Wait," proclaimed Patravi, "did you mean that fire from 10 years ago?"

Yuna nodded.

Suddenly, everyone on the S.S. Liki felt a rumble from the ocean floor as massive waves started building up, sending the ship into chaos.

"EARTHQUAKE!" shouted a sailor.

_"An earthquake in the middle of the ocean?"_ thought Yuna.

"I have a bad feeling about this…" bleated Patravi.

Everyone on board, including Yuna, her guardians and the Aurochs, struggled to hold on as the waves continued to tumble the ship. Suddenly, one massive wave formed, which threatened to turn over the ship underwater. Yuna lost her grip on the crossbow and was falling towards the sea.

"YUNA!" cried Patravi in panic.

Yuna managed to grab the side railing with her hands, but she was barely hanging on. It would only take just one slip and she would plunge to her death. The massive wave was about to destroy the ship when Yuna suddenly heard the familiar cry that sounded like a whale combined with sirens and wind. Not a second after that, Sin rose out of the ocean and tackled the ship, which broke through the wave and it landed on the surface of the water, with no damage inflicted. Yet, one sailor gaped in shock.

"SIN!"

As Sin retracted his fin from the boat, he nudged Yuna back onto the deck.

"Sin must've saved us," cheered Wakka.

"Was that me," pondered Lulu, "or did Sin sense this coming danger?"

"Man," jabbered Wakka, "that sure was one nasty earthquake we had, ya? I guess our worst is over."

"Ugh, are you kidding?" barked Patravi, "the earthquake took place in the bottom of the ocean! Don't you guys _**know**_ what that means?"

Everyone on board gaped in horror at the thought of the possibility. Yuna made a glance at Sin, who turned his face ahead, while his eyes turned yellow.

_"A tsunami..."_ thought Yuna.


	3. Chapter 2: The Mystery of the Ruin

This chapter will cover the journey in Kilika Island, with some twists and some elements from Alice: Madness Returns. I do not own the quote inserted into the fic from Alice: Madness Returns. I am also placing the Ruin monsters into the story.

_{This is spoken in Sin's telepathy.}_

Final Fantasy X belongs to Square Enix, not me!

* * *

The residents in Kilika Port were attempting to get back to their business after the earthquake startled them. It wasn't long before a few of them noticed the receding water. Not a minute later, a shadow crept over the port, prompting everyone to make a glance at a massive wave coming from the sea. Soon, the residents scurried towards the coast in a panic as the tsunami was closing in. It wasn't long before the tsunami smashed into the wooden settlements, taking some unfortunate victims along with it in their bloody deaths. There were actually a few waves that came in the tsunami as they repeatedly smashed the wooden huts to smithereens as the residents fled for safety.

After a long while, the S.S. Liki arrived in Kilika with Sin tagging along. Everyone on board gaped in horror at the sight of the destruction that took place an hour ago. Yuna stood on the bow as she faced the island with determination.

"_I will bring justice for my sister,"_ thought Yuna, _"I must."_

As the boat made it into the docks, Yuna and her guardians disembarked, as they soon came across a middle-aged couple.

"Greetings," said Yuna, "I am summoner Yuna from the Isle of Besaid. If there is no other summoner here, please allow me to perform the sending."

"Thanks be to ye," praised the middle-aged man.

"Our loved ones," added the middle-aged woman, "they could become fiends at any time!"

"Please take me to them," requested Yuna.

As the middle-aged couple guided Yuna through the damaged docks, she passed by some survivors with gruesome conditions. One survivor had a wooden splinter the size of a pencil gouged in his right eye. Another survivor with an even larger splinter stabbed through his left arm. Another survivor, a little girl, was crying in pain with a nasty compound bone fracture on her right leg; they were all trapped in the rubble. These sights made Yuna cringe on the inside; it wouldn't be nice at all if she had the same inflictions as they did. She made a quick glance at Sin, who dispatched some Sinscales to search the area for survivors. When they reached the quays, Yuna noticed corpses wrapped in caskets floating in the shallow waters. Patravi also made an observation with the floating caskets.

"Corpses bobbing in the sea!" sang Patravi.

The villagers instantly gaped in disgust while glaring at Patravi. Lulu was also annoyed as she elbowed her in the side.

"Hey!" grumbled Patravi, "what was _**that**_ for?"

"That _**wasn't**_ called for, Patravi," scolded Lulu, "these villagers have suffered a grave tragedy, and there's no excuse for you to tease them about it!"

"I was just _**joking**_!" replied Patravi, feeling rather embarrassed.

After taking off her boots, Yuna was ready to perform the sending. Of course, she had practiced in her dreams where she was a summoner performing the sending for fallen warriors that have died in the infernal war that took place in her mind. She hopes that she would remember her routine as she took a step on the water, with a staff in her hand. To her amazement, she was now walking on the surface off the shallow waters. Could her dreams have given her this ability? As she walked towards the center of the casket circle, she started her dance, remembering as much of the routine as she can, while accordingly waving around her staff. As she continued, pyreflies emerged, the lights on the dock turned blue, and she was now spinning on top of a spontaneous geyser of water. After a while, Yuna had completed the sending.

* * *

_**Later that night, in the dream, Yuna entered a factory, and along the way, she passed by some children slaving away on the sidelines of the assembly lines. She felt sorry for them as they were forced to assemble some mechanical parts against their will. As she meandered deeper into the factory, she came across a strange-looking loudspeaker as it repeated the same announcement over and over:**_

"_**A good worker is a live worker; free to live and work! A bad worker is a dead worker, and vice versa. Don't be a bad worker; bad workers are slaves and dead! Payday for good workers has been postponed indefinitely; payday for bad workers is CANCELLED!"**_

_**Yuna felt indignant rage build up inside her as she couldn't stand the annoying announcement any longer. The next thing she knew, she pulled out her blade and smashed the loudspeaker to smithereens. After calming down from that short rage, Yuna continued to maneuver in the factory. It wasn't long before she found herself in a hangar. There, she made a huge glance at what seems to be a forbidden machina. Was this the Infernal Train that Valefor warned her about?**_

* * *

After breakfast, Yuna emerged outside from the inn. There were plenty of villagers working on fixing the dock from the damage inflicted by the tsunami from yesterday. She also noticed that Sin is still here, as he released some of the lucky patients to return to their life. As Yuna meandered through village, she noticed a little girl crying while trapped on a ruined hut. Suddenly, the hut was about to collapse into the sea, threatening to take the little girl along with it. Yuna wasted no time as she jumped in and pulled the girl out to safety just as the hut collapsed. She was given an Ether as thanks after that. Soon, Yuna rejoined with her guardians who were waiting in Kilika Woods.

"I'm sorry," apologized Yuna, "have I kept you waiting?"

"No," replied Patravi, "I was just telling Wakka a joke."

"I don't care if you call it a joke," barked Wakka, "it's _**not**_ funny!"

Yuna noticed that Kimahri was glaring at Patravi.

"What happened?" asked Yuna.

"Ronso take big pride in their horns," answered Lulu, "just because Kimahri lost his doesn't mean you can poke fun at him, Yuna."

"_**You**_ insulted Kimahri?!" exclaimed Yuna, facing Patravi.

"Drat!" grumbled Patravi while folding her arms and lowering her head in chagrin.

As Yuna and her guardians began to take a step further into the woods, the Besaid Aurochs joined them. As they trekked in the woods, Wakka made himself handy by whacking the Killer Bees with his Blitzball. Lulu doused Yellow Elements passing by with her Water spells, and Yuna would occasionally freeze any Killer Bees that dodged Wakka's attacks with her Ice spells. Patravi would often spill bloody guts whenever she struck a Dinonix with her sword. Yuna also found some use of herself by burning Ragoras with her Fire spells after Kimahri learned its Seed Cannon by performing a Lancet on one of them. Soon, they started to ascend the stairs that lead to the temple.

"These stone steps have a history, you know," said Wakka, "yep, Lord Ohalland trained here at his peak."

Yuna could hear Letty and Datto chuckling.

"Are you challenging me to a race?" asked Patravi.

Letty and Datto chuckled even louder as they and Wakka lined up.

"Ok then," affirmed Patravi, "I accept your challenge!"

Patravi got in line as well.

"Yuna," said Wakka, "if you would."

Yuna decided to go along with their race challenge, taking role as a referee as she raised her arm.

"Ready?!"

Yuna felt too energetic to stand by, so she started speeding up the next flight of stairs, causing Wakka, Datto, Patravi and Letty to dash in pursuit. While running up the stairs, Yuna suddenly felt her chest gradually burning up, as if someone was trying to warn her of danger.

"Look out!" cried Datto.

To her surprise, there was a massive black parasitic monster at the platform at the base of the next flight of stairs. It had 4 big arms as legs, its body was tall and decorated with small doll heads and tiny arms, and its top was embellished with some mechanical parts. It even had a big doll face at the front base. It was similar to the parasitic monsters she had to fight in her dreams; only deadlier. Lulu, Wakka, Kimahri and Patravi charged at it immediately, only to find that battling it is very tricky. Patravi and Kimahri attempted to slash the monster, but it turns out that it is made out of goo. Lulu attempted to cast her elemental spells and an Earthquake, but her abilities were not enough against the monster. Yuna quickly summoned Valefor, hoping that with him on their side, they may stand a chance.

"You called?" voiced Valefor.

"What _**is**_ that thing?!" demanded Yuna.

Valefor took a good glance at the parasitic monster before turning back to Yuna.

"That is a Colossal Ruin," answered Valefor, "one of the strongest of the Ruin."

"What's a Ruin?"

"They are the parasites of Spira," explained Valefor, "they come from the tragic memories that reside in the minds of people. They can kill countless amounts of innocents if they are left alone."

"How do I stop them?"

"You need more than weapons and magic."

Valefor handed Yuna a mystical staff which he carried in his talons. After taking the staff, she took what little time she had left in getting used to wielding it.

"Aim the Eyestaff of Sin at the Ruins' weak points," advised Valefor, "and you may get the upper hand in the heat of battle."

"Thank you."

Yuna quickly sped towards the Colossal Ruin, as she then focused on charging the orb on the staff for a moment. After charging enough energy, the Eyestaff shot a massive beam of energy at the large head at the base, disarming the fiend. Then, Patravi jumped up while spinning in midair and landed the blade of her sword into the monster, killing it in the process. As the Ruin monster disintegrated, Yuna dismissed Valefor.

"That was the _**strangest**_ fiend that I've ever seen!" commented Wakka, "where _**did**_ this one come from, anyways?"

"I don't think there was any tale in Spira that talked about this creature," replied Lulu.

"Well," objected Patravi, "_**someone**_ must know about it!"

"I don't know much about it, either," mumbled Yuna, "I only saw this creature and similar ones in my dreams."

Yuna and her guardians continued their trek to the temple. Before long, they arrived at the forecourt, where they came across the Luca Goers, who just came out of the temple.

"What's up, Wakka?" taunted Bickson, leader of the Goers, "are you gonna 'do your best' this year?"

"Shut up, you dingbat!" spat Patravi.

The Luca Goers pay no attention to Patravi's raving as they sauntered by.

"See you in the finals!" hollered Wakka.

As Yuna and her guardians enter the temple, they came across another summoner with only one guardian.

"A summoner," said the summoner, "are you?"

"My name is Yuna," admitted Yuna, "from the Isle of Besaid."

"I'm Dona," replied the summoner, "you must be the daughter of High Summoner Braska? That's quite a name to live up to. And these people are your guardians? Braska only had two. I am in need of only one guardian, right, Barthello?"

"I have as many guardians as I have friends," objected Yuna, "I trust them all with my life. It is as much of a joy and an honor as being the daughter of a High Summoner."

"Do what you want," smirked Dona, "Barthello, we're leaving."

Dona and Barthello left the temple in a heartbeat.

"Sounds like we've got some competition," commented Patravi.

"Let's go," interrupted Yuna.

Yuna led her guardians up into the Cloister of Trials while the Aurochs stayed behind to pray for their victory. They had to step onto the elevator which brought them down into a lower level, which led to a door to the Trials. At the beginning of the Trials, Yuna took a Kilika Sphere from a nearby pedestal and placed it in the slot next to the overhead door, which caused the door to burst into flames. Seeing these flames gave Yuna a cringe as it reminded her of the fire from 10 years ago. Patravi removed the sphere while Yuna was reminiscing her past, which extinguished the blaze. The next thing that Patravi did was placing the Kilika Sphere into the slot on the north wall, which revealed a Glyph. While Lulu removed the Kilika Sphere to set it aside on one of the side walls, Yuna touched the glyph, causing the wall to slide open. As Yuna and her guardians proceeded into the fiery chamber, Patravi stepped onto the floor switch on the right, which teleported the pedestal from the previous room, while Kimahri was holding a Glyph sphere. Yuna took a Kilika Sphere from the right wall and placed it into the pedestal. As she pushed the pedestal towards the floor switch, Kimahri placed the Glyph Sphere into the empty slot at the right wall, which revealed a secret room. After the pedestal locked into the floor switch, a section of the platform dropped, extinguishing the flame. As Kimahri took out the Destruction Sphere like he did last time in Besaid, Yuna moved the Kilika Sphere to the slot next to the exit door, and removed it after the sphere destroyed the door. Soon, the Trials were complete as Yuna led her guardians through the exit into the antechamber.

"This is your next visit," said Patravi, "right?"

Yuna nodded as she entered the chamber. Inside, she came across another vivid spring just like the one in the Chamber of Fayth in Besaid. This time, Ifrit came out.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Yuna.

"Alas," replied Ifrit, "you are the daughter of Braska that Sin had informed us about."

"Yes."

"Valefor told me of the Colossal Ruin that ambushed your party."

"Well," said Yuna, "does anyone else in Spira know of these Ruin creatures?"

"Not many people in Spira are aware of the existence of the Ruin," replied Ifrit, "they do not show themselves that often or even as easily."

"And the Infernal Train?"

"The Infernal Train is the reflection of a machina that Sin had to destroy a thousand years ago to protect Spira from destruction," continued Ifrit, "the birth of the Infernal Train could only mean that this particular machina is being rebuilt by someone who intends to use it."

"Was this machina used in the war a thousand years ago?" asked Yuna.

"Yes, its destructive power was the reason why Sin came here. We Espers have yet to fear its return."

Soon, Ifrit imbued Yuna's spirit with his, just like Valefor did. After exiting the chamber, Yuna led her guardians out of the temple, while heading for the port to board the next boat to Luca.


	4. Chapter 3: Let the Games Begin!

I now have the 3rd chapter up and running!

_{This is spoken in Sin's telepathy.}_

Final Fantasy X belongs to Square Enix, not me!

* * *

During the ride on the S.S. Winno, Yuna got a restful sleep. As the sun came up, the boat was already arriving at Luca. Yuna stood on the bow as she observed the bustling boats at the coast of Luca as the boat headed for Dock 2. The Kilika Beasts, the Besaid Aurochs and the Luca Goers made their bustling appearance as they disembarked. Of course, Yuna and her guardians also disembarked. It wasn't long before they heard that Maester Mika was arriving at Dock 3.

"So," suggested Patravi, "how about we pay the Maester a visit?"

Yuna and her guardians then headed on over to dock 3, where they observed a huge vessel that had Yevon symbols on its sails. Soon, the band started playing as a Guado with long blue hair began to disembark, accompanied by Nero Guado, whom Yuna instantly recognized right off the bat.

"_It's Nero!"_ thought Yuna, _"what is __**he**__ doing here?"_

"That's a Guado," said a civilian, "right?"

"Who could it be?" pondered another civilian.

"Isn't that Maester Seymour?" assumed another civilian.

Seymour soon turned towards the ship and performed the Yevon bow, as well as the entire crowd, as Maester Mika began disembarking the vessel.

"People of Spira," announced Mika, "I thank you for your generous welcome. Rise, Maester Seymour, and all of you as well. I present to you the son of Maester Jyscal Guado, who departed for the Farplane a fortnight past."

The crowd rose up on their feet.

"Of course," continued Mika, "as some of you already know, he has been officially ordained as a Maester of Yevon."

"I am honored to receive the title of Maester," smiled Seymour, "in life, my father Jyscal worked to foster friendship between man and Guado. I vow to carry on his legacy, and to fulfill my duties as maester to the best of my abilities."

As the crowd gave the Yevon bow, Seymour, Nero and Mika headed out of the docks while Yuna secretly gave Nero the stink-eye.

"Is something the matter, Yuna?" asked Patravi.

"What is Nero doing here?" inquired Yuna.

"Oh yeah," answered Patravi, "Nero is Seymour's uncle."

"Uncle?"

Patravi nodded.

"All right," declared Wakka, "last meeting before the match! Hustle!"

Wakka soon led the Aurochs out of the docks, heading for the stadium. Yuna, Patravi, Lulu and Kimahri also headed inland. Lulu and Kimahri headed for the Aurochs' locker room as Yuna and Patravi meandered through the streets of Luca. Suddenly, Patravi overheard someone say that a certain man called Auron was in a café.

"Patravi?" asked Yuna in curiosity.

"I just heard that someone saw Sir Auron in a café!" exclaimed Patravi.

"You mean your father?"

"Yeah, let's go find him!"

"Why?"

"Well," explained Patravi, "it's been several years since I last saw my dad, right?"

"I guess you're right."

Yuna and Patravi sped into the main square and then into the café. Yuna looked around once inside, but Auron was nowhere in sight.

"I think your father left before we got here," sighed Yuna.

"What a bummer!" grumbled Patravi.

As Yuna wandered in the café, she bumped into a girl with blond girl with swirly green eyes. It was an Al Bhed.

"I'm sorry!" blurted Yuna, "are you ok?"

"That's ok," replied the Al Bhed girl.

Suddenly, the Al Bhed girl's eyes widened as if she recognized someone.

"Wait," gasped the Al Bhed girl, "Yunie, is that you?!"

"Rikku?"

"All right!" chirped Rikku, "you _**do**_ remember me!"

"Uh," interrupted Patravi, "Yuna, who's that girl?"

"This is my cousin, Rikku," announced Yuna, "Rikku, this is Patravi, the daughter of Sir Auron."

"Sir Auron?" blurted Rikku, "I just saw him until a few minutes ago! He said something about talking to my dad in dock 4."

"Dock 4?" exclaimed Patravi, "so _**that's**_ where he is! Come on!"

"Oh, you were looking for him?" replied Rikku, "ok then, let me join in!"

"Sure thing," acknowledged Yuna.

Yuna, Rikku and Patravi headed out of the café and headed for the docks. The tournament has already started by then, which was why most of the streets were empty. By the time they arrived at dock 4, they found that Auron was fighting a Colossal Ruin, and he is not faring well.

"Eww, that _**thing**_ is gross!" groaned Rikku.

"Dad's in trouble!" cried Patravi.

Yuna, Rikku and Patravi sped into the scene to Auron's assistance. Yuna pulled out the Eyestaff and fired its beam at the Ruin's weak spot. However, this only made the Colossal Ruin angry as it attacked Yuna. Suddenly, as the ground beneath her seemed to open up, Yuna stumbled and fell in.

"YUNA!" shouted Patravi.

It was too late. Yuna has fallen a lot further by now. She soon made a rough landing, but she was still ok.

* * *

_**When she got up, Yuna looked around and found that she must've fallen into a valley. However, the sky was dark and eerie and there were splatters of black acidic substance scattered all over the place. Yuna wandered about, not knowing what she should do, until she heard a sound that seemed to be coming from a forbidden machina. Before she knew it, the Infernal Train came by. Soon, the valley started to crumble away, forcing Yuna to venture through the calamity, jumping from platform to platform.**_

_**Yuna came across a bunch of Ruin creatures, forcing her to slash through them to move ahead as she wandered through the chaos. There were even times when she had to use the Eyestaff to disable a few of the strongest Ruin creatures. After a long while of fighting and jumping from platform to platform, Yuna finally stood before the base of a mountain that is surrounded by a barrier. Suddenly, the barrier seemed to mutate as pseudopodia emerged to grab Yuna, which caused her to yelp in surprise.**_

_**{Yuna,} said a baritone voice, {please come in.}**_

_**Yuna somehow recognized the voice as her chest was now burning up. Was Sin calling her? The pseudopodia grabbed and pulled her inside the barrier. She figured out that whoever brought her into the barrier was probably waiting for her, so she started climbing up the mountain. After a long while of climbing, Yuna found some exotic villages that were being terrorized by the Ruin creatures. Some of the villagers were not lucky as it turned out they were gruesomely sliced into pieces. As she dashed to the rescue, she suddenly noticed a Yevon symbol on one of the Ruin creatures.**_

"_**Are these creatures sent by Yevon?" thought Yuna, "that's impossible!"**_

_**Yuna still had no choice but to fight. She wasted no time as she jumped into action. With the Ruin creatures eliminated, the surviving villagers rejoiced in bliss as they escorted Yuna to their temple, where their elder was waiting.**_

"_**Are you the lady summoner Yuna?" asked the elder.**_

"_**Yes."**_

"_**Alas," said the elder humbly, "you must be the Chosen One that will deliver us from Yevon's evil reign."**_

"_**Is Yevon really that bad?" wondered Yuna.**_

"_**Yevon has enslaved us for a thousand years," explained the elder, "and now he has decided to destroy us all."**_

"_**That's strange," pondered Yuna, "some of the creatures I fought had Yevon's symbol."**_

"_**The Ruin are servants of Yevon," continued the elder, "Yevon sends these foul creatures to terrorize our people."**_

"_**What must I do?" asked Yuna.**_

"_**Head for the peak of this mountain," advised the elder, "there you will find Sin. He will grant you the power that will save us all."**_

"_**I'll do what I can," agreed Yuna.**_

_**The elder soon opened a nearby gate that probably leads further up the mountain. He even gave Yuna a new weapon, which was a sledgehammer. After kindly accepting the gift, Yuna continued through the gate and ventured through the path as she continued to climb up the mountain. As she ventured further up the mountain, there were barriers that were blocking her way, which were probably made of stone, so Yuna used the sledgehammer to break them down to move forward. As she continued her journey, Yuna had a flashback to where she had a conversation with Auron on the way to Besaid ten years ago:**_

"_**Sin had wrapped you in the serum when I found you," stated Auron, "he told me everything about the incident."**_

_**For a brief moment, Yuna thought about the memory. Would she have to be wrapped up in serum again if she reached the top? Probably not. Yuna quickly snapped out of it as she realized she still had a long way to go. Along the way, some of the survivors helped open up the path for her to move through. She even liberated some of the innocent prisoners when she journeyed through a seemingly complex tunnel. Before long, Yuna had finally reached the mountain's peak as she saw a cave opening up ahead. But then, when she entered the cave, it turned out to be a small cave; a dead end. Suddenly, Yuna heard the familiar sound of a whale combined with sirens and wind.**_

_**{I've been waiting for you, Yuna,} said a baritone voice.**_

"_**Sin," called Yuna, "is that you?"**_

_**{The Infernal Train was sent by Yevon to destroy your past,} continued the baritone voice, {that is why I brought you here. Unfortunately, it appears that Yevon is destroying the barrier that has protected this sacred creation. Yuna, come inside!}**_

_**Suddenly, the ground beneath her began to crumble, and Yuna soon fell in. To her surprise, Sin was waiting for her arrival in a massive cave; even bigger than Sin himself. Yuna approached him after landing safely.**_

"_**So Yevon was the reason why these Ruin creatures were after me?" demanded Yuna.**_

_**{Yes,} answered Sin, {Yevon knows that you survived the fire and you even remember who was responsible.}**_

"_**You mean Nero?"**_

_**{Correct,} continued Sin, {Nero is one of the high priests of Yevon. Therefore, Yevon allows him to commit crimes against Spira and avoid paying the price. I entered your mind to explain all of this to you. Only you can determine your fate, Yuna.}**_

_**Suddenly, Yuna noticed that the cave was starting to collapse. The next thing she knew was that Sin scooped her up with his fin as he then emerged from the cave to escape the destruction.**_


	5. Chapter 4: Onward to Mi'ihen!

_{This is spoken in Sin's telepathy.}_

Final Fantasy X belongs to Square Enix, not me!

* * *

Yuna slowly opened her eyes, only to find that there was an Al Bhed with a gas mask sitting nearby. Auron, Rikku and Patravi were also in the room, and Yuna was apparently lying down on a bench with a mattress.

"Yna oui ymm nekrd?" asked the Al Bhed.

Of course, he was speaking their native language. Luckily, Yuna understood what he meant since she is half Al Bhed herself.

"I'm fine," answered Yuna, "what happened?"

"You fainted at the dock," explained Auron, "after defeating the creature, we were worried that you might be in more danger, so we brought you here."

"I see…"

Soon, Yuna stood up from the bench.

"Well," said Patravi, "at least Yuna's ok. Can we go now, sir?"

The Al Bhed with the gas mask nodded. Auron, Yuna, Rikku and Patravi soon got off the Al Bhed ship. They suddenly ran into Lulu and Kimahri.

"Where _**were**_ you two?" demanded Lulu, "Kimahri and I have been looking all over for you!"

"Yuna passed out on the dock and we had to look after her for a while," answered Patravi.

"'We'?"

"Well," clarified Patravi, pointing at Auron and Rikku, "me, my dad and an old friend of Yuna's."

"I'm her _**cousin**_," corrected Rikku, "not a friend."

"Wait," inquired Yuna, "what about the game?"

"Didn't you hear? We're in the finals," answered Lulu, "the Aurochs are already facing off with the Goers."

Yuna nodded, and then she walked over to Auron.

"Well then," said Yuna, "this is Sir Auron. He was my father's guardian."

"Oh," replied Lulu, "well then, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too," agreed Auron.

"Do you happen to know who that Al Bhed is?" asked Lulu, pointing at Rikku.

"She's my cousin," answered Yuna.

"Yup," added Rikku, "pleased to meet you. I'm Rikku!"

Yuna led Patravi, Lulu, Rikku, Auron and Kimahri towards the front of the stadium and into the hallway outside the Aurochs' locker room.

"Lulu," requested Yuna, "is it all right if Sir Auron and Rikku became my guardians?"

"Hold on," interrupted Patravi, "why them? Aren't having four guardians enough for you?"

"Well," explained Yuna, "since they have looked after me when I fainted, I really would appreciate it if they joined us."

"So," assumed Rikku, "the more, the merrier?"

Yuna nodded.

"It is an honor to be of service," accepted Auron.

"All right then," agreed Lulu, "I'll just explain this to Wakka after the tournament."

After a while of watching the game on the screen in the hallway, they finally got some recent news about the tournament.

"All right!" cheered Patravi, "we won the tournament!"

"So Wakka has finally made a comeback after several years," smiled Yuna.

"Should we go get Wakka?" asked Rikku.

"Wakka said that he'll meet us in the balcony," answered Lulu.

Yuna, Patravi, Rikku, Auron, Lulu and Kimahri headed out of the hallway and after wandering through Luca, they arrived at the balcony. There, they waited for Wakka, who showed up after several minutes.

"Congratulations, Wakka," said Patravi.

"Yeah, thanks," replied Wakka, "sorry to keep you waiting, Yuna. From now on, I'm your full-time guardian. By the way, how could you let some Al Bhed kidnap you?"

"What?!" exclaimed Yuna.

"Wait a minute," argued Patravi, "she wasn't kidnapped by the Al Bhed, she fainted!"

"Patravi is right," added Auron, "there was a Colossal Ruin attacking the Al Bhed when Yuna showed up. She passed out in the midst of battle, so the Al Bhed were keeping her safe until she woke up."

"Wait," interrupted Wakka, "a Colossal Ruin, you mean the fiend we encountered near the temple in Kilika?"

"Yes," answered Yuna.

After that, Lulu explained Wakka about Yuna's request to have Auron and Rikku join their party. Wakka eventually accepted the request. Before long, Yuna led her guardians up the stairs to Mi'ihen Highroad as the pilgrimage continued. During the trek to Mi'ihen Highroad, they came across a bunch of fiends every once in a while. Kimahri performed a Lancet on a Bomb and a Dual Horn, granting him their abilities. Auron demonstrated his worthiness in battle by slaying a Raldo with his heavy sword. Patravi and Wakka were kept busy as they defeated Garms and Floating Eyes. Yuna casted Fire spells on White Elements that passed by while Rikku stole some handy items from the passing fiends. Lulu found some good use by dousing Bombs with Water spells quickly before they exploded. As they ventured further, they came across Lucil and Elma, who warned them of a large fiend in the area with a taste for chocobos before leaving in a flash. After another long while of traveling, they came across Luzzu and Gatta leading a chocobo that is carrying a wagon that is covered by a large fabric. Also, some of the Crusaders that passed by mentioned about some sort of important mission. This led Yuna to pause.

"Yuna?" asked Auron.

"I wonder what kind of mission these Crusaders are talking about…" pondered Yuna.

"Well," mentioned Rikku, "I heard that the Crusaders are launching an operation about getting rid of a mysterious abomination that has been terrorizing innocent people; that's all I know."

"_Was she talking about the Infernal Train?"_ thought Yuna.

Yuna got off the subject and continued to venture forth. As sunset came in, Yuna and her guardians came across an Al Bhed Travel Agency.

"We rest here," announced Auron.

"But this is an Al Bhed shop!" protested Wakka.

"You have a problem with that?" pried Auron.

"Well…" stammered Wakka.

"Sir Auron is just concerned about your health," suggested Yuna.

"I'm not even tired a _**single**_ bit!" scoffed Wakka.

"Well," remarked Auron, "I am."

"Me, too," added Patravi.

Wakka reluctantly agreed to Auron's advice as they all entered the Travel Agency to stay for the night.

* * *

Here's the translation for the Al Bhed line:

"Yna oui ymm nekrd?" = "Are you all right?"


	6. Chapter 5: Hysterical Trance

I had some ideas pop into my head while writing this chapter. One of them was inspired by Alice's Hysteria mode from Alice: Madness Returns.

_{This is spoken in Sin's telepathy.}_

Final Fantasy X belongs to Square Enix, not me!

* * *

_**Yuna returned to her surreal world that night. She started by entering a tunnel. As she passed through, there was plenty of pulsating meat all over the place, decorated with fleshy tendrils. After a long while, she found the exit, which led to an open field infested with a bunch of Colossal Ruin. These creatures were attacking a gigantic bulb of organic flesh. It was Yuna's sacred sanctum; in fact, Yuna had been seeking shelter inside this fleshy sanctum for ten years. She couldn't bear to lose it, even if a lot of Colossal Ruin makes the battle even more challenging. Still, she had to fight to save her fortress. She wasted no time in getting into action as she strategically took them down one by one. After a long while of combat, Yuna managed to defeat the last Colossal Ruin. The next thing she knew, the gate to the sanctum opened up, prompting Yuna to enter the fortress.**_

_**Once inside, Yuna began to wander inside the fortress. Every passageway consisted of meaty tissues as walls, ceilings and even floors. Blood vessels are embedded into these tissues to nourish the fortress, and these blood vessels are constantly pulsating. The large rooms she passed through contained platforms also made of meaty tissue. Yuna remembered the way through this place very well since she had been here before. She even had to solve some simple puzzles to venture further. After a long while of climbing tendons and jumping across bony bridges, she finally reached the nucleus of the fortress, where a sac filled with fluid was in the center. A caricature of Yuna's sister, Kotonia, was floating inside the sac. Not a second later, Kotonia opened her eyes.**_

"_**Yuna," said Kotonia, "you came back for me?"**_

"_**I was hoping that Yevon would discover Nero's crime and punish him," replied Yuna, "but he let him get away with it instead."**_

"_**If Nero is still out there," gasped Kotonia, "he could send me to a brothel any day now!"**_

"_**I doubt that Nero will target you now that you're dead," assured Yuna, "but, he's using a hypnotist to erase my past. If only Braska was still alive, none of all this would've happened."**_

"_**You have a long way to go to bring back my stolen justice," objected Kotonia, "but Nero has a monstrous hell raiser to protect him."**_

"_**The Infernal Train."**_

_**Suddenly, Yuna noticed a lot of tentacles popping out of the holes in the meaty chamber as they slithered towards her.**_

"_**Exactly," urged Kotonia, "you must destroy this train at all costs. As long as the train exists, we are all in grave danger. Make your survival mean something, Yuna, or we are all doomed!"**_

* * *

It turned out to be a dream as Yuna woke up. After a spot of breakfast, Yuna and her guardians were getting ready to continue their pilgrimage until…

"Someone, help!" cried a voice from outside, "the chocobos!"

"Uh," queried Patravi, "does anyone think someone's in trouble?"

"That's our cue," replied Auron, "let's go."

Yuna and her guardians sped outside to investigate the commotion. They soon came across a huge monster standing on top of the agency with a chocobo in one of its hands as the other chocobos fled for their lives. It wasn't long before the fiend drop down onto the field. As it attempted to bring the chocobo to its mouth, the chocobo bit its hand, forcing it to let go as it fled for its life. Then the monster turned its eyes towards Yuna and her guardians. They wasted no time in charging at the monster. Auron, Patravi, Wakka and Kimahri gave it some good whacks while Rikku stole a Mega-Potion from the fiend. Kimahri gave the fiend a good scanning, revealing that it was weak against fire, which gave Lulu an opportunity to cast some Fire spells on it.

Unfortunately, while they were close to victory, the Chocobo Eater suddenly flailed its arm at everyone, knocking them off their feet and scattering them all over the field. Wakka was hanging on to a cliff while Yuna tried to cover her bruised side as she tried to get up. She even felt her chest burn up rather quickly. But it didn't take long for the Chocobo Eater to notice her struggle as it quickly knocked her back down. Suddenly, Yuna felt a surge of strange energy flow quickly through her body as she heard a baritone voice in her head. Was it Sin's? The next thing she knew, she got up before extending her arms out to the side as she entered a heavy trance, stained with blood. She even found that she was significantly stronger in this form as she relentlessly attacked the Chocobo Eater. Before long, her heavy blow with her sledgehammer sent it off a cliff. She returned to normal immediately after that.

"Yunie," called Rikku, "are you ok?"

Yuna nodded as she casted a Cure spell to heal herself.

"I had no _**idea**_ that you had such an amazing ability back there!" exclaimed Patravi, "where did you learn that?"

"I don't really know what happened," mumbled Yuna, "I thought I was done for and before I knew it, I felt something take over my mind."

"Have you an interest in renting some chocobos?" interrupted a voice from behind.

Yuna and her guardians instantly turned to face the source of the voice, which turned out to be an Al Bhed wearing a yellow jacket.

"Sorry I didn't introduce myself," continued the Al Bhed with the yellow jacket, "my name is Rin, owner of this establishment. As a token of our gratitude, the first time is free of charge. Please ask the attendant if you wish to rent."

"Thank you, sir," smiled Yuna.

Yuna and her guardians kindly accepted the offer before mounting onto several chocobos. After a while of traveling in the northern part of Mi'ihen Highroad, they soon came across a gate at the exit of the highroad. It wasn't long before one of the Crusaders, Clasko, urged them to dismount their chocobos. Then, Yuna and her guardians approached the gate.

"I'm sorry," interrupted the gate captain, "but I can't let you pass. Sorry for the inconvenience."

"Ugh," groaned Patravi in disappointment, "what a bummer."

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Seymour and Nero Guado approached the gate.

"So," said Seymour, "we meet again, Lady Yuna."

"Show no mercy to that bitch!" scolded Nero, "she belongs in the asylum, not in a pilgrimage."

"Excuse me?!" hissed Yuna.

Nero turned to Auron.

"Sir Auron," nagged Nero, "you were _**supposed**_ to send that bitch to the asylum!"

"Sin demanded that he evaluated her first," explained Auron, "according to him, she was not mad enough to be confined."

"Say, Yunie," whispered Rikku, "what did Nero mean by asylum?"

"It's a long story," answered Yuna.

Yuna never forgot the day when she snapped 10 years ago; she hadn't even recovered from the trauma of the fire yet at that time. Nero visited Besaid village a month after the fire, as he made up a tale of Sin setting a house on fire. When Yuna glanced at Nero, she instantly picked up a stone the size of her hand and threw it at Nero's head. This soon triggered an outcry while Yuna shouted accusations against Nero Guado. She even remembered when Nero demanded Auron to send her to an asylum before leaving the island. She even remembered Sin scolding her for such a reckless act later that night.

"I believe Sir Auron is right, Uncle Nero," persuaded Seymour, "Yuna was still traumatized by the fire during that incident."

"Maester Seymour," interrupted the gate captain, "let me show you to the command center."

"All right," acknowledged Seymour, "but I have a request."

"Yes, your Grace?"

"I need to have summoner Yuna and her guardians let through to the command center," requested Seymour, "and do not worry, I will take full responsibility."

"Very well," agreed the gate captain, "they may pass."

Seymour blissfully led Yuna and her guardians through the gate to Mushroom Rock Road while Nero headed south.


	7. Chapter 6: Operation Mi'ihen

_{This is spoken in Sin's telepathy.}_

Final Fantasy X belongs to Square Enix, not me!

* * *

Yuna and her guardians have followed Seymour through the partway in Mushroom Rock Road for quite a while; fighting fiends passing by along the way. As they reached the lift, they came across Luzzu and Gatta from Besaid, who were also Crusaders, as they were bickering about something.

"Why only you, sir?" complained Gatta, "I want to fight, too!"

"Orders are orders," replied Luzzu.

"I'm not a cadet anymore, sir," pouted Gatta, "let me go with you, and I'll prove it to them!"

"Guarding the command center is also important," explained Luzzu.

Yuna felt that it probably wasn't a good idea to interrupt their conversation, but she soon noticed Patravi approach the two, grabbing their attention.

"So they let you through?" said Luzzu.

"Yep," nodded Patravi, "but doesn't Gatta deserve any better?"

"At least there's no chance he'll get hurt," suggested Wakka, "why are you guys fighting, anyway? Aren't the Al Bhed machina enough?"

"They still need time to get ready," explained Luzzu, "our job is to keep the mysterious machina at bay until they're done. Also, I might not get another chance to say this, Wakka. It's about your brother."

"Luzzu, wait," said Lulu.

"What?" said Wakka.

"I'm the one who convinced him to enlist," confessed Luzzu, "I'm sorry."

Wakka soon built up rage as he rose up his fist and punched Luzzu. Wakka was about to continue his assault when Patravi suddenly stepped in between.

"Wakka, stop it!" shouted Patravi.

Wakka eventually calmed down.

"When we used to play Blitzball together," said Wakka, "Chappu used to say that when we won the Cup, he'd propose to Lulu. Then one day, he went off and became a Crusader, just like that."

"Chappu also told me," added Luzzu, "that being with your girl is good. But keeping Sin away from her is even better."

Wakka turned to Lulu.

"Lu," he said, "you knew?"

"Luzzu told me before we left," explained Lulu.

"She hit me too," said Luzzu.

Soon, Lucil came by and approached the party.

"All Crusaders in the vanguard are to assemble on the beach," announced Lucil.

"That's my cue," acknowledged Luzzu.

"Be careful, ok?" said Yuna.

After Luzzu left with Lucil, Yuna and her guardians boarded the lift with Seymour, and it soon began to elevate. After reaching the top, Yuna and her guardians dismounted the lift and continued along the ridge, where Wakka noticed cannons along the cliff, pointing at the sea. Without hesitation, Wakka approached the cannons.

"Curse these blasted things!" spat Wakka as he kicked one of the cannons with his feet.

"He _**still**_ doesn't like these machina?" said Patravi sarcastically.

"Shut up!" barked Wakka.

Rikku turned to Yuna in curiosity.

"Wakka's brother, Chappu," explained Yuna, "fought with an Al Bhed machina instead of the sword that was given to him."

"I'll say," chirped Rikku.

Yuna continued to lead her guardians to the command center after Lulu ushered Wakka back into the group. By the time they arrived at the command center, they came across Lucil and Seymour. Soon, Seymour dismissed Lucil before he turned to Yuna.

"So, Lady Yuna," said Seymour, "are you curious about what this operation is about?"

Yuna nodded.

"A few months ago," explained Seymour, "an unusual machina sailed through the skies of Spira, and left lethal unusual creatures in its wake."

"The Ruin," suggested Yuna, "and that machina is called the Infernal Train."

"Really?" mused Seymour, "how did you know?"

"I saw the train and the Ruin in my dreams," explained Yuna, "I just had no idea that they would appear in Spira, too."

"Well, as I was saying," continued Seymour, "as it turns out that this Infernal Train is a grave threat to Spira, the Crusaders and the Al Bhed have come together to destroy."

"Are you kidding?" clucked Wakka, "it won't work, anyway!"

"But we don't know much about this train," objected Rikku, "so, I guess the only way to find out is to just try."

"Good point," acknowledged Seymour, "now, are you ready for the operation to begin?"

Yuna nodded.

After that, Seymour walked onto the observation platform and gave out a signal. Then, the Crusaders lifted a huge cage containing several Menacing Ruin out beyond the cliff and hanging over the beach. After a while, the Infernal Train arrived overhead of Mushroom Rock Road. It wasn't long before the Menacing Ruin broke free of the cage while the Crusaders fired cannons at the Infernal Train. Of course, Yuna and her guardians charged at the Menacing Ruin as the Al Bhed started up the ancient machina that they prepared to fire at the Infernal Train.

Unfortunately, more Ruin creatures spawned rapidly up to the point where everyone was overwhelmed. To make matters worse, several Colossal Ruin hijacked the machina and destroyed it in the process, killing the Al Bhed people inside.

"_Oh no!"_ thought Yuna, _"the train is too much for them!"_

While she felt her chest burning up once again, Yuna suddenly heard a sound of a whale combined with sirens and wind. Some of the surviving Crusaders also listened to this sound in curiosity. It wasn't long before Sin rose out of the sea before approaching the shoreline.

"SIN!" shouted one of the Crusaders, "Sin is coming!"

Auron glanced at some of the remaining Ruin, that are now starting to combine, attracting more Ruin to join, and it wasn't long before they combined to create a Massive Ruin.

"Look out!" shouted Auron.

The Massive Ruin then launched a deadly attack; unfortunately, Luzzu and several unlucky Crusaders were not able to get out of the way like everyone else did as the energy from the Massive Ruin killed them. Not long after, Sin generated an energy shield and launched an energy explosion that vaporized the Massive Ruin along with the remaining Ruin on the beach. The survivors were astounded by Sin's tremendous power. Yuna soon glanced at the Infernal Train, and she gaped in horror as it pulled out what seems to be a deadly weapon, and it turned out that the Train was going to use it against Sin. Of course, Sin turned to face the Infernal Train. Yuna was certain that the Infernal Train was planning to kill Sin; she quickly started to race towards him.

"Sin," cried Yuna, "NO!"

Yuna was suddenly stopped by Seymour, who grasped Yuna's shoulder.

"Relax, Lady Yuna," said Seymour.

"I can't!" cried Yuna, "Sin is in trouble!"

"Trust me," assured Seymour, "Sin knows what he is doing."

Yuna shook her head in disbelief before turning towards Sin. Surprisingly, Sin summoned an energy shield over himself just as the Infernal Train fired its energy weapon. Throughout a matter of moments, Sin and the Infernal Train were facing each other in a deadly duel; much to Yuna's dismay, as she started worrying about Sin. Suddenly, Sin gained the advantage as he used his shield to push the beam further from himself before launching an energy explosion at the Infernal Train's weapon, destroying it in the process; Yuna instantly gaped in surprise, as she realized that Seymour's prediction that Sin would survive was correct. As the weapon crumbled down, Yuna sighed in relief.

However, the Infernal Train suddenly left without a trace as Sin headed towards the shoreline. Not willing to wait any longer, Yuna sped down to the beach to meet up with him while everyone else struggled to cope with the crisis. It wasn't long before Sin noticed her presence.

_{What brings you here, Yuna?}_ asked Sin.

"I heard that the Crusaders wanted to destroy the Infernal Train," answered Yuna, "but I don't think they knew that it was beyond their potential."

_{They weren't even aware of the fact that Yevon had set this up to strengthen his domination over Spira,}_ clarified Sin.

"This operation was Yevon's doing?!" exclaimed Yuna.

Sin nodded.

_{Does that upset you?}_

Worried, Yuna embraced onto Sin's head with tears starting to well up in her eyes.

"I saw the Train's deadly weapon," fretted Yuna, "you could've died!"

_{Yevon does not believe that I am more wise than he is,}_ assured Sin, _{Yuna, you still remember that the time will come for Nero to succumb to justice, do you?}_

Yuna looked up at Sin's eyes before nodding. Then, Sin pulled out a sphere from his shell.

_{That time is coming closer,}_ continued Sin, _{however, Yevon can still destroy your reputation. With this sphere of the incident, he cannot convict you for treason. Do not lose this.}_

"I promise," agreed Yuna, taking the sphere into her hands.

_{Until then,}_ stated Sin, _{be careful.}_

Yuna nodded as Sin departed for elsewhere. After that, Yuna headed for Djose shore to reunite with her guardians.

"So Yunie," chirped Rikku, "how did your romantic conversation with Sin go?"

"W-what?!" exclaimed Yuna, blushing, "where did you even _**get**_ such an idea?"

"Oh, come on Yunie," teased Rikku, "I saw you doing your sweet talk with him back there. Did you ask him to marry you, yet?"

"I do not want to talk about it!" spouted Yuna.

"Why not, Yuna?" joked Patravi, "are you afraid that Yevon will humiliate you?"

"Patravi, stay out of this!"

"Come on, just tell us already!" demanded Patravi.

"Young lady, stop harassing Yuna!" bellowed Auron.

"But dad…" protested Patravi.

"I mean it," scolded Auron, "what goes on between Sin and Yuna is none of your business. That includes you, Rikku."

"Geez, fine," pouted Patravi.

Seymour soon joined in.

"You really are amazing for a summoner, Lady Yuna," said Seymour, "perhaps even _**stronger**_ than your father."

"_Lord Braska?"_ thought Yuna.

"Let me give you some advice," continued Seymour, "anyone would be expected to show their sorrow, but _**you**_ are Spira's hope. Until you perform the Final Summoning, you must not relent."

"The Final Summoning?" pried Yuna in curiosity.

"Yes," preached Seymour, "that's the goal of the summoner's pilgrimage. Don't you know that?"

"I do."

"Well then," said Seymour in a humble mood, "until we meet again, farewell."

After that, Seymour left. Yuna faced north as she is about to continue her pilgrimage. This time, she has to head for Djose.


	8. Chapter 7: Rude Awakenings in Djose

Did you know that in Alice: Madness Returns in the Dollhouse level, there are lots of heavily scarring hints about child prostitution? The creators of this game created this level to get all of us to understand that child prostitution is a bad thing, you see.

_{This is spoken in Sin's telepathy.}_

Final Fantasy X belongs to Square Enix, not me!

* * *

After performing the sending for the fallen Crusaders, Yuna led her guardians for Djose Highroad. While traversing through the Highroad, they had plenty of encounters with fiends including Basilisks and Funguars to name a few. After a while, Patravi and Kimahri got into a conversation while they all took a break for a moment.

"Does Yuna look that determined to you, Kimahri?" asked Patravi.

"In dark times she must be," answered Kimahri, "she must shine bright. Now are dark times. Yuna tries hard."

"Maybe we should help her," suggested Patravi.

"If we worry," replied Kimahri, "she tries harder. Do not frown."

"Gosh," sighed Patravi, "that sounds complicated if you know what I mean."

Soon, Yuna regained her pep before leading her guardians onward. After a long while, they reached a crossroad, with one path leading to Djose temple and another leading to the Moonflow. Yuna led her guardians toward the path to the temple without hesitation. After crossing some bridges, they arrived at the temple. Yet, it looked like a massive mushroom rock until it suddenly exploded, revealing the temple.

"Is it me," mused Patravi, "or is there already another summoner here?"

"Well," grinned Rikku, "there's only one way to find out!"

Without hesitation, Yuna lead her guardians towards the door to the temple. They were suddenly stopped by a temple priest.

"Halt!" commanded the priest, pointing at Rikku, "the likes of her are not welcome in this hallowed place."

"She is a guardian," argued Auron.

"An Al Bhed as a guardian?" scoffed the priest, "preposterous!"

"What?!" exclaimed Wakka, as he gaped in surprise.

"Isn't she supposed to accompany Yuna as a duty of a guardian?" reminded Auron.

"Very well," sighed the priest.

As Yuna and her guardians entered the temple, Wakka suddenly paused at the entrance.

"This is great," complained Wakka, "I've been traveling with an Al Bhed; a heathen!"

"Are you kidding?" retorted Rikku, "we have _**nothing**_ against Yevon!"

"Well Yevon said that you Al Bhed use the forbidden machina," argued Wakka, "it's all in his teachings!"

"That's _**all**_ you have to say?" countered Rikku.

Wakka turned to Yuna.

"Well," stated Yuna, "Al Bhed or not, Rikku is still Rikku."

Wakka turned to Lulu.

"Just think of this as an opportunity to learn more about the Al Bhed," suggested Lulu.

As Yuna and her guardians proceeded out into the main hall, another summoner emerged from the Cloister of Trials along with 2 guardians, a man and a little boy.

"I am Summoner Yuna from the Isle of Besaid," said Yuna.

"So you're the daughter of Lord Braska?" mused the summoner, "why does that not surprise me? I am Isaaru, and I'm a summoner like you. And these are my guardians; Pacce and Maroda."

"Hello!" chirped Pacce.

"Since I was a child," continued Isaaru, "I've always looked up to Lord Braska. Perhaps we shall see who performs the Final Summoning first?"

"I accept your challenge," admitted Yuna.

Soon, Isaaru, Maroda and Pacce left the temple in the blink of an eye. Then, Yuna led her guardians up the stairs into the Cloister of Trials. When they entered the Trials, they first brought the Djose Spheres from the side walls and into the slots of the north door, which triggered it to open up sideways. Then they proceeded through the hall into another chamber. Patravi and Rikku took both Djose Spheres from both sides of another door and placed them into 2 slots on the eastern side of the platform while Yuna pushed the pedestal in the middle to the east, which soon electrified the Djose Sphere on the pedestal. Then, Yuna took the super-charged Djose Sphere and inserted it into the slot on the right of the door, which opened it. Meanwhile, Auron and Patravi took the two Djose spheres and placed them onto the pedestal before signaling Kimahri to step onto the floor switch on the west side of the platform. Then, Wakka pushed the pedestal into the pit of lightning in the northern chamber, which created a suspended platform. Then Yuna jumped across the platform before pushing the pedestal on the other side into place. After she exited the chamber, Lulu pressed the floor switch again, teleporting the pedestal back into the chamber. Then, Rikku and Kimahri took the Djose Spheres from the pedestal and carried them back to the starting chamber while Auron took the super-charged Djose Sphere and placed it into the slot on the left of the door. It wasn't long before the glowing Yevon symbol turned into an elevator platform. Yuna and her guardians stepped onto the platform, and it soon carried them into the next level. Then, Yuna, Rikku, Patravi, Auron and Kimahri pushed the 5 pedestals into place at the same time, which activated the spokes, which revealed a stairway. Yuna then led her guardians up the stairwell into the antechamber. Without hesitation, Yuna entered the Chamber of Fayth.

Inside, a vivid spring was waiting for her. It took a matter of moments before Ixion emerged from the spring.

"Nice to meet you," said Yuna, "my name is Yuna."

"I heard," replied Ixion, "Sin informed me of the incident on Mushroom Rock Road."

"Can the Infernal Train be destroyed?" asked Yuna.

"It probably depends if you have the courage to confront your worst fears," answered Ixion.

"You mean I have to face my past?" assumed Yuna.

"By overcoming your fears," explained Ixion, "you can save your Wonderland by destroying the Train's weak point, which is revealed to you when you are in your dream. But I must warn you, the Infernal Train will soon target all of the summoners in Spira; including you. Should you have come across the Infernal Train, call us. Your weapons and magic will not be enough against the train. Call us and we will help you."

After that, Ixion imbued her soul with his, and then Yuna emerged from the Chamber of Fayth.

* * *

_**Later that night, Yuna entered her surreal world once again. This time, Yuna found herself in a community where the dolls lived. She remembered that this community was happily thriving with colorful crowds and joyful imagination. But now, she saw that the community was literally cast in shadows, infested with Ruin creatures and Bitch Babies running amok. Yuna still had no choice but to enter the community. While jumping from platform to platform and riding up vents produced by houses imbued with eyes, Yuna noticed that there are now pictures of little girls wearing price tags around their necks. She even saw pictures of little girls and boys with tears in their eyes while covered in blood. Of course, Yuna never forgot the horrifying memory of when she saw the cruel treatment of underage prostitutes when she snuck into a brothel to investigate 10 years ago. She even remembered talking to Auron about it in Besaid when she was 12:**_

"_**Nero offered me a prostitute one time," voiced Auron, "although she was too young and had scars on her face. I felt so sorry for her that it made me want to resign my position as a monk."**_

_**Yuna also remembered when she told Sin about the brothel that she investigated:**_

_**{It pains me to see that several young children end up treated like objects by disrespectful humans,} voiced Sin, {no single child should deserve to go through such pain.}**_

_**Yuna continued to venture through the now twisted community. Then, she had to fight through a swarm of Bitch Babies that were annoyingly spitting balls of gastric juice at her. On the occasions where Yuna wasn't able to dodge these gastric balls, she was met with searing pain. After finally taking out the swarm, Yuna came across a Sinspawn Geneaux, which beckoned her to come closer before using its tentacles to mend her injuries taken from the Bitch Babies. After thanking the Sinspawn, Yuna passed by a mirror with the words 'Save Us' written in blood. As she continued moving through the twisted houses in the community, she noticed plenty of beds that have been soaked with blood, as well as a cradle that contained a baby that was grotesquely cut in half, which exposed a cross-section of the human anatomy. After a long while, Yuna reached the community square, where a Colossal Ruin was waiting for her. Yuna wasted no time as she engaged in battle with it. After a good while of carrying out her strategy of fighting the Colossal Ruin and slashing a bunch of Insidious Ruin with her turquoise blade, she turned towards a statue of a baby girl on its belly and spreading its legs in a perverse way as a door at its crotch opened up. Yuna hated the idea of wandering into this certain area, but then she realized that she has to do it in order to move on. After a moment of arguing with herself, she reluctantly went through the tunnel in the statue that led to a hangar, where the Infernal Train was waiting.**_

_**In the hangar, Yuna noticed that there was a moving assembly line of dolls dressed up in inappropriate clothing, which made her cringe just like she did when she wandered through the twisted community. She started suspecting that Yevon is allowing child prostitution to thrive, much to Sin's major dislike; even Yuna disliked the fact that Yevon allows children to be raped; especially after what happened to her sister:**_

"_**That bastard Nero," voiced Kotonia, "he took everything away from me: my virginity, my soul; I am now forever an empty shell."**_

_**To Yuna's surprise, Ixion was right. The Infernal Train had exposed its weak spot which was located on top of the caboose. According to Ixion, all she had to do was to use the Eyestaff to destroy it. However, as Yuna attempted to approach the train, she was ambushed by wave after wave of Colossal Ruin. It seemed that it would take forever to take them down first. Surprisingly, several Sinspawn arrived into the hangar and took on the Colossal Ruin, which gave Yuna a chance to fire the Eyestaff at the caboose, which was soon destroyed moments later.**_

* * *

Yuna woke up, now refreshed from her dream. After her spot of breakfast, Yuna sped to exit the temple to rejoin with her guardians.

"Morning, Yunie!" chirped Rikku.

"Well, I'm ready," replied Yuna.

"We'll leave once Patravi fixes her hair," teased Auron, looking at Patravi.

"Dad!" hollered Patravi in chagrin, as she had messy hair at the moment.

After moments of laughter, Yuna and her guardians headed for the Moonflow.


	9. Chapter 8: Crossing the Moonflow

_{This is spoken in Sin's telepathy.}_

Final Fantasy X belongs to Square Enix, not me!

* * *

As they arrived in the Moonflow, Yuna and her guardians continued their pilgrimage. While they traversed through the road, they came across some fiends. Lulu used her Fire spells on the Snow Flans and the Funguars that they passed by as Rikku stole some handy items from every single fiend. Patravi took out many of the Garms while Auron handled many of the Bunyips. Wakka knocked down Bite Bugs as Yuna burned some Ochus with her Fire spells. Kimahri used Stone Breath on a large array of Gandarewas, in which he already learned this ability from a Basilisk in Djose Highroad. Soon, they came across two more Ronso, which are taller than Kimahri. Patravi instantly recognized them from Luca: Biran and Yenke Ronso.

"Look," said Biran, pointing at Patravi, "one of Kimahri's friends! Looks just like him."

"What?" barked Patravi.

"Both follow summoners on all fours," taunted Biran, "hornless goatlings!"

"Hornless," taunted Yenke, "hornless!"

Kimahri stomped up to them, as it was apparent that they pissed him off.

"You come to insult Kimahri?" snarled Kimahri.

"Wrong," reasoned Biran, "we come to _**warn**_ little Kimahri."

"Summoners disappear," added Yenke, "never return."

"Next will be Kimahri's summoner," mocked Biran.

Yuna gaped in shock after hearing what Biran just said. Could these disappearances have been the Infernal Train's doing?

"Poor Kimahri," taunted Yenke, "lost his horn! Next lose his summoner!"

"Pitiful Kimahri," teased Biran, "howl alone! Howl alone!"

After that, Biran and Yenke left the scene while laughing.

"I'm worried," muttered Lulu.

"Let the Ronso deal with Ronso problems, ya?" reasoned Wakka.

"I _**mean**_ I'm worried about those summoners disappearing," objected Lulu.

Wakka glared at Rikku.

"Well don't blame me," said Rikku, "we Al Bhed have _**nothing**_ to do with this!"

"Summoners _**aren't**_ just disappearing in the air," added Auron.

"Don't worry about me," assured Yuna, "I can defend myself."

Yuna and her guardians continued their journey through the Moonflow. After a while, they reached the southern bank. Then, they gathered to watch as pyreflies rose from the purple flowers floating in the shallow waters.

"Cool!" smiled Patravi, "I never _**thought**_ I would be able to see moonlilies!

"And _**now**_ that wish has been granted," remarked Rikku.

"Rikku," giggled Patravi, "you're so funny!"

Rikku nodded while joining Patravi in laughter.

"Hey," interrupted Wakka, "we better hurry or we'll miss the shoopuf!"

Yuna and her guardians then headed for the south wharf. There, a shoopuf was standing next to the loading platform. There, they took a break for a little while. Soon, Yuna approached the driver, which was a Hypello.

"Ride ze shoopuf?" said the Hypello.

"Yes," replied Yuna, "we're ready."

"All aboards!"

Then, the lift lowered to the ground, prompting Yuna and her guardians to board it, and the lift soon rose to the top of the shoopuf's back, prompting everyone to climb onto the howdah. It wasn't long before the shoopuf handler jumped onto the shoopuf's neck before motioning it into the river.

For a long while, Yuna and her guardians were sitting in the howdah as the shoopuf crossed the river. They were gazing at ruins that were underwater.

"Say, Wakka," said Patravi, "how did those ruins end up there in the first place?"

"Yeah," added Rikku, "why build a city over a river, especially one on top of bridges?"

"They just wanted to prove that they could defy the laws of nature," answered Wakka.

"However," added Lulu, "the weight of the city caused the bridges to collapse, and it all sank to the bottom."

"Well," remarked Patravi sarcastically, "_**that**_ was rather awesome."

"Was Yevon _**really**_ the one that forbade the use of machina?" asked Rikku.

"Not exactly," answered Lulu, "Yevon only decided which machina we may use and which ones we may not."

"Although," added Auron, "the machina that Sin forbade were the machina that were only built to destroy Spira's ecosystem."

"Because Sin didn't want war to destroy Spira?" clarified Yuna.

"Exactly," agreed Auron.

Yuna was about to settle back down from the conversation when she suddenly heard rumbling from the sky. It wasn't long before the Infernal Train sailed in the sky over the Moonflow, which startled everyone on the shoopuf, including Yuna, who felt her chest burn up once again. To their surprise, it looked like the caboose on the Train was on fire as it passed by.

"Did you just _**see**_ that?" exclaimed Patravi.

No one else said anything. Meanwhile, Yuna searched the area with her eyes to find any Ruin that may have spawned. To her surprise, there weren't any.

"I guess that was just a wake up call," said Wakka to himself.

After a while, the shoopuf reached the Northern Wharf of the Moonflow. As Yuna and her guardians disembarked, they noticed a crowd panicking while a Colossal Ruin was attacking a little boy.

"Wait a minute!" said Patravi all of a sudden, "isn't that Pacce?"

Yuna wasted no time as she pulled out her Eyestaff and shot it at the Colossal Ruin's weak point. Although its weak point was destroyed, the attack provoked the Colossal Ruin into charging at Yuna, but then Auron leaped into the air and plunged his sword into the ground, which triggered an explosion that killed the monster.

"Man," sighed Pacce in relief, "I thought done for back there!"

"Say," asked Patravi, "where's Isaaru?"

"We were about to head for Guadosalam when a giant flying train passed by," said Pacce, "the next thing I knew, Isaaru and Maroda were gone and this huge black monster came out of nowhere!"

"Maybe they ran away?" suggested Rikku.

"I don't think they would have been able to," disagreed Auron.

"Do you mind if we helped you find him?" proposed Yuna.

"Why thanks, Yuna!" chirped Pacce, "I just hope Isaaru's ok."

After allowing Pacce to tag along, Yuna led her guardians down the road which led to Guadosalam. Once they arrived in Guadosalam, which turned out to be a city inside a cave, they came across a stuffy Guado.

"We have been expecting you, Lady Yuna," said the stuffy Guado, extending his hand, "Welcome to Guadosalam."

"Really?" said Yuna in curiosity.

"Hey, wait a minute!" interrupted Patravi.

"Oh, I beg your pardon," proclaimed the stuffy Guado, "I am Tromell Guado. I am in the direct service of our leader, the great Seymour Guado. Lord Seymour has very important business with Lady Yuna."

"Business with me?" mused Yuna, "what could it be?"

"Please," insisted Tromell, "come inside the manor. All will be explained. Of course, your friends are also welcome."

"Thank you," clarified Yuna, "but is his uncle around?"

"I'm afraid Nero Guado is not here right now," reasoned Tromell, "he has business to do in Macalania."

"I see."

Soon, Tromell left, giving Yuna and her guardians an opportunity to explore the place for a while. After resting up a bit from the combat, they headed towards the manor that appeared to be in the center of the underground city. Once inside, they were led into the banquet hall.

"I will go inform Lord Seymour," said Tromell, "please wait here."

After Tromell headed further into the manor, Yuna walked up to Kimahri.

"Is something wrong?" asked Yuna, "you seem upset."

"Kimahri not like Nero," said Kimahri.

"Really?"

Kimahri did not say another word. Yuna then turned to Patravi.

"I'm kinda surprised that Seymour invited us here," said Patravi, "what do you think that means?"

"I'm not sure," mumbled Yuna, "but I still believe Nero is up to no good."

"Huh," mused Patravi, "you don't mind Seymour, yet you despise his uncle?"

"As far as I know," nodded Yuna, "he did something very terrible against my family."

"Really? How?"

"I'm not sure how to explain it just yet."

"I know you don't trust Nero," interrupted Auron, "but it would be best if you don't mention this to Seymour. You could upset him."

"I understand," acknowledged Yuna.

Yuna then turned to Pacce.

"Man," sighed Pacce, "there's _**still**_ no sign of Isaaru?"

Yuna shook her head. Soon, Seymour entered the banquet hall.

"Welcome, Lady Yuna," said Seymour, "there's no need to rush. Feel free to make yourselves at home."

"Thank you," replied Yuna, "but why did you ask us to come here in the first place?"

"Well then," said Seymour humbly, "let me show you."

Seymour placed a sphere in a pedestal located at the end of the hall, which summoned a simulation of a night sky, and then a machina metropolis, which dazzled everyone.

"This sphere is a reconstruction created from the thoughts of the dead that wander the Farplane," said Seymour.

The simulation zoomed in further into the machina city.

"Is that Zanarkand?" warbled Patravi.

"Correct," marveled Seymour, "this is Zanarkand, the great and wondrous machina city, as it looked one thousand years ago, before it was destroyed by war."

"What does that have to do with me?" asked Yuna, as the simulation from the sphere ended.

"All summoners are charged to bring peace to Spira," answered Seymour, "but this means more than just performing the Final Summoning. She must also ease the suffering of all Spira. After all, Yevon's teachings say that the Final Summoning is important to keep Spira healthy."

"But then," pondered Patravi, "if Yevon is the emperor of Spira, then how come he's still in power? Shouldn't he have passed it on to an heir a long time ago?"

"Do not question Yevon's authority," objected Seymour, "it's not polite."

"Excuse me," interrupted Rikku, "what about Pacce? Wait a minute. Where _**is**_ Pacce, anyways?"

Yuna and her guardians looked around the hall. There seemed to be no sign of him.

"_Where could he have gone?"_ thought Yuna.

"Oh," crooned Seymour, "were you referring to the little boy that was here a moment ago?"

"Yeah," said Patravi, "he must've disappeared somehow!"

"Don't fret," assured Seymour, "I'm sure that this Pacce is safe and sound."

"Sure," said Patravi sarcastically.

Soon, Yuna and her guardians left the manor and out into the city. They soon noticed a crowd of Guado gathering at the highest ramp. This propelled them to head for the ramp to investigate.

"What's going on?" asked Wakka.

"It's Lord Jyscal!" cried a Guado woman.

"Lord Jyscal?" warbled Lulu, "shouldn't he be in the Farplane?"

"Let's check it out!" suggested Patravi.

Without hesitation, Patravi broke through the crowd, and headed into the corridor leading to the Farplane, and she was soon followed by Yuna and the rest of her guardians. Once they reached the base of the stairs leading to the Farplane, they noticed a ghost of an elder Guado clad in robes attempting to emerge from the membrane that led to the Farplane.

"That's Jyscal, all right," commented Patravi.

"What is he doing?" asked Rikku.

"Yuna," commanded Auron, "send him! He does not belong here!"

Yuna nodded as she sped up the stairs before performing a simple dance which sent him to the Farplane. Suddenly, she noticed that Jyscal's ghost dropped a sphere, which led her to pick it up. After that, she rejoined with her guardians as the traversed back through the corridor of the Farplane.

"Was that _**really**_ Lord Jyscal?" warbled Wakka.

"I don't understand how a man like Lord Jyscal could die and not be sent," said Yuna.

"I would think that he was sent once," suggested Lulu, "but he stayed on Spira. Something, a powerful emotion could have bound him to this world."

"That's against the rules," commented Rikku, "isn't it?"

"What does that mean?" asked Patravi.

"It means he died an unclean death," concluded Auron.

After emerging from the gate, the crowd of Guado all sighed in relief before continuing on with their lives. After a little preparation, Yuna led her guardians down a tunnel which led to an exit, which revealed a vast plain with towers and a heavy thunderstorm. They have just reached the Thunder Plains.

"Oh no," bleated Rikku, "we're here!"

Rikku instantly flinched after a flash of lightning struck down.

"Looks like we're going to cross an obstacle course," sang Patravi, "right?"

"We should still avoid wide open areas," said Lulu.

"I think I forgot something in Guadosalam," lied Rikku.

"Nice knowing you," said Auron in disappointment.

"Okay," groaned Rikku, "I'll go!"


	10. Chapter 9: Face Your Fears

_{This is spoken in Sin's telepathy.}_

Final Fantasy X belongs to Square Enix, not me!

* * *

Yuna and her guardians began traversing across the Thunder Plains. Along the way, they had to dodge incoming lightning every once in a while, much to Rikku's dismay. They also came across a bunch of fiends, such as Buers, Larvae, Aerouges and Melusines. There were some several occasions when Patravi had to call out to Kimahri whenever he was distracted by nearby Qactuar stones. After a long while of trekking through the southern regions, everyone was startled by yet another lightning flash.

"Whoa," exclaimed Patravi, "now _**that**_ was a close call!"

"Stop kidding around," scolded Lulu.

"Geez, fine," pouted Patravi.

Rikku suddenly stopped in her tracks, while chuckling.

"What's wrong?" asked Wakka.

Rikku didn't answer; she just chuckled once again.

"You seem nervous," said Yuna, "are you ok?"

After another flash of lightning, Rikku cowered to the ground, and she soon skittered about until she grabbed hold of Yuna's legs, which startled her.

"I wanna go home!" cried Rikku, "I hate lightning! I hate thunder!"

Rikku soon gazed at a nearby Travel Agency.

"Let's go rest over there," begged Rikku, "please?"

"This storm never stops," said Auron, "it's better to cross quickly."

"But," bleated Rikku, "just for a little while, please? I'm too young to die!"

Patravi looked at Auron with concern in her eye.

"I kinda feel sorry for her…"

"Fine," sighed Auron, "we rest. She's worse than the storm."

Yuna and her guardians headed for the Travel Agency to rest up. Yuna managed to share a room with Patravi, even when it was pretty small. While in the Agency, Yuna pulled out the sphere she got from Jyscal's spirit.

"Say, Yuna," said Patravi, "where did you get that sphere?"

"I got it from Lord Jyscal when I sent him," replied Yuna.

"Ok then," said Patravi, "do you mind if I see what's in it?"

"There's only one way to find out."

Yuna and Patravi gathered around the sphere as they tapped into it. To their surprise, it was a message from Jyscal himself:

"_What I am about to tell you is the unclouded truth. I swear upon it as a Guado. Listen to me very carefully, for I shall tell you the truth about my son, Seymour, and my brother, Nero. Seymour was rather a shy boy in his early years, even when he looks upon me, a maester of Yevon. But my brother, Nero, is more close-minded and more sadistic than I am. I can feel flames of darkness burning in his heart. He is using Yevon, the Guado, the summoners and even my son. If he is not stopped, he will surely bring destruction and chaos to Spira. I will leave this world soon, killed by my own brother. But surely, I will accept death as punishment for my failure to act earlier. But whoever is watching this, I implore you to stop Nero. Stop my brother!"_

This message in the sphere quickly sank in, as Yuna and Patravi are shocked by the truth.

"No way," exclaimed Patravi, "is Nero _**really**_ a criminal?!"

"Yes," said Yuna, "I guess I'm not the only one who witnessed his crimes."

"What do you think that means?"

"Nero is a threat to Spira," stated Yuna, "and we must stop him."

"So," asked Patravi, "what did Nero do to you?"

"Well," affirmed Yuna, "remember Kotonia?"

"You mean your sister?"

"Yes," continued Yuna, "Nero raped and murdered her 10 years ago."

"No way," warbled Patravi, "Nero is a rapist?!"

"That's not all he did," nodded Yuna, "he also set my house on fire to cover his tracks. I was lucky to be still alive."

"Was that the reason why you hated Nero so much?"

Yuna nodded as she and Patravi got up.

"Ok then," said Patravi, "if that's the case, maybe we should go after Nero and teach him a lesson."

"That's right!"

Soon, Yuna and her guardians have rested up well enough and continued their journey through the Thunder Plains, while fighting through the fiends that they came across every once in a while. After a seemingly long trek, they reached Macalania Woods.

"All right!" chirped Rikku, "we made it, finally!"

"Is thunder and lightning _**really**_ that scary to you, Rikku?" asked Patravi.

"Yeah," nodded Rikku, "when I was little, a fiend attacked me while I was swimming at the beach. My brother tried to beat it back with a spell. But he missed and hit me instead! And it was a Thunder spell!"

"Oops," muttered Patravi.

"I've been scared of lightning ever since," continued Rikku.

Patravi placed her hand on Rikku's shoulder.

"It's ok, Rikku," assured Patravi, "at least you're lucky that you're still living."

"Thanks, Patravi."

Yuna and her guardians began to venture through Macalania Woods. They soon ran into Lucil and Elma.

"Hey, Lucil," said Patravi, "how are you doing?"

"Elma and I are doing fine," replied Lucil, "but we've received several reports of summoners disappearing these last few days. Please, be careful."

Lucil and Elma soon left for somewhere else.

"That doesn't really surprise me now," said Lulu.

"Well," added Yuna, "Isaaru did disappear while we crossed the Moonflow. And so did his guardians. Someone has to be responsible for all this."

Yuna and her guardians continued their journey. There were many usual occasions where they fought through fiends as they went. But then, fighting Chimeras were pretty tricky, so Yuna would occasionally summon Ixion to help them fight these monsters. Lulu even summoned branch spears at any fiends that managed to dodge attacks from the others. When they reached the end of the woods, Auron stopped before a fallen tree.

"Wait," said Auron, "it is here, somewhere."

"What's here?" asked Yuna.

"Something you should see," replied Auron.

Then, Auron pulled out his blade and hacked away at the fallen tree, which revealed a hidden path.

"Follow me," commanded Auron.

Auron led Yuna and the rest of her guardians down the path, which led into a watery glade.

"Hey, dad," said Patravi, "what's this place?"

"This is what spheres are made of," explained Auron, "it absorbs and preserves people's memories."

"I see," mused Yuna.

Suddenly, a blue amorphous creature emerged from the spring.

"What the heck is _**that**_?!" exclaimed Wakka.

"Fiends are also attracted to these places," mentioned Auron.

Everyone wasted no time as they charged into battle. To their surprise, this amorphous monster is immune to physical attacks. On some occasions, this monster would cast an elemental spell, which affected everyone. After stealing some useful items from this fiend, Rikku resorted to cast Cure spells to keep everyone on their feet. While Lulu tried her luck with her Geomancer abilities, Yuna paid attention to which elements the fiend was using. She figured that it was immune to most elements except for one. At the moment, she noted the fiend cast a Fire spell, so she quickly countered it with a Watera spell. Then, the fiend shifted its elemental properties before casting a Blizzard spell, which hit everyone. Yuna then summoned Ifrit, who performed a Hellfire, killing the amorphous fiend, which dropped a sphere.

"Man," sighed Patravi, "can this get any _**crazier**_?"

Auron walked up to the sphere and picked it up. Then, he offered it to Patravi.

"What's this?" asked Patravi.

"Your mother asked me to give this to you," said Auron.

"Thanks."

After Patravi accepted the sphere into her hands, she, Yuna and her guardians left the spring and headed out to Macalania Lake. They went into a nearby Travel Agency to rest for a bit before setting out again. When they reached the frozen lake, the Infernal Train suddenly appeared in the sky.

"Ugh," groaned Patravi, "not again!"

Yuna felt her chest burn up rapidly, and she figured that this was a warning sign this time. Suddenly, swarms of Ruin creatures gathered around everyone, forcing them to embrace for battle. To their surprise, they grabbed everyone, including Yuna, and they were dropped into the Infernal Train itself. It took them a short while for everyone to recover.

"What's happening?" bleated Rikku.

"Kimahri feel danger ahead," said Kimahri.

"Hey guys," insisted Patravi, "didn't we hear any of those rumors about summoners disappearing?"

"I think the Infernal Train is behind all this," stated Yuna, "follow me!"

Yuna led her guardians down the hallway of the Infernal Train as Ruin creatures were crawling all over the place. After a while, they reached the train's nucleus, where they ran into Dona, Isaaru and their guardians. Pacce was embracing to Maroda for comfort as they all trembled in fear.

"Everyone," called Yuna, "are you all right?"

"I've seen situations worse than this," replied Dona.

"I believe this machina has a mind of its own" added Isaaru, "if you know what I mean."

"How do we get out of here?" asked Rikku.

"We've tried leaving this train," replied Maroda, "but the Ruin keep dragging us back here."

"Does that mean we're stuck here forever?" gasped Patravi.

"Not yet," objected Yuna.

Suddenly, a Massive Ruin appeared out of nowhere along with the psychiatrist from Besaid.

"You!" exclaimed Yuna.

To their surprise, the psychiatrist and the Massive Ruin seem to share their deranged souls. The Massive Ruin wasted no time to attack everyone, forcing them to fight back. Yuna remembered the warnings from the Espers she visited so far, and while everyone kept the Massive Ruin busy, Yuna summoned Valefor, Ifrit and Ixion to join the battle.

"So," said Valefor, "are you ready to face your fears?"

"Yes," replied Yuna, "but then, have I damaged anyone to deserve this?"

"No, abuse is a crime that the strong visit on the weak," affirmed Valefor, "however, abusers are insufficiently punished for the damage they do. Those who witness abuse without seeking retribution for the victims pay a price. There are a notable few that have died for their failure to act earlier. You, on the other hand, may have not seen enough despite witnessing the abuse of others."

"Forgetting the pain is easy," added Ifrit, "but it is not always a valid choice. But then, remembering the truth is worth the suffering."

"I see…" said Yuna.

Soon, Yuna and the Espers she summoned launched an attack that damaged the nucleus, which caught the Massive Ruin's attention, as it moved to attack Yuna. It was suddenly stopped by Patravi and Kimahri as they unleashed their unique abilities against it to hold it back. Dona and Isaaru noticed what Yuna was doing and decided to keep the Massive Ruin at bay, hoping that this would give Yuna a chance. After a long while of fighting, and several rounds of firing beams from the Eyestaff, Yuna managed to destroy the nucleus of the Infernal Train. As it began to crumble apart, thousands of Ruin creatures are forced to flee, but it is also getting dangerous for everyone else on board.

"Run!"


	11. Chapter 10: Confrontation

_{This is spoken in Sin's telepathy.}_

Final Fantasy X belongs to Square Enix, not me!

* * *

Yuna barely managed to escape along with her guardians, Dona, Barthello, Maroda, Pacce and Isaaru as the Infernal Train crumbled to oblivion. They have now returned to Macalania Lake.

"That was _**really**_ scary!" squeaked Pacce.

"We're safe now, Pacce," assured Maroda.

Dona and Isaaru proceeded to thank Yuna for saving them before leaving with their guardians. After that, Yuna and her guardians headed north of Macalania Lake through the icy crevasse that led to Macalania Temple. After a while of crossing the icy bridge over the lake, they arrived in Macalania Temple, where they came across Nero, who instantly gave Yuna an icy glare.

"How _**dare**_ you destroy the Infernal Train!" roared Nero.

"Wait a minute," argued Patravi, "that train has been terrorizing everyone for a long time now; we had to destroy it!"

Nero refused to listen as he started to attack Yuna, forcing her and her guardians to run up the stairs into the Cloister of Trials. Nero was still pursuing them as they ran across the icy bridge into the waiting chamber. Without hesitation, Lulu cast a Blizzara spell to freeze the door after everyone except Nero went past the door.

"That should hold him," said Lulu.

"But not for long," added Patravi.

"What are going to do now?" whined Rikku.

"We could hide in the Chamber of Fayth," suggested Yuna, "all of us."

"But we can't go in the Chamber," protested Wakka, "it's taboo, remember?"

"We can ignore this taboo," reasoned Auron, "better safe than sorry."

"Let's go," said Kimahri.

Then, Yuna and her guardians went through the other door that led to another icy bridge straight into the Chamber of Fayth. This time, everyone went inside, where they came across another vivid spring. It wasn't long before Shiva emerged while everyone was settling down to rest.

"Thank you for destroying the Infernal Train," said Shiva, "Lady Yuna."

"You're welcome," replied Yuna humbly.

"But you do know that it's not over yet," continued Shiva, "right?"

"Nero is still on the loose," clarified Yuna.

"Exactly," agreed Shiva, "Sin asked me to send you this message; the time has come."

Yuna nodded. Soon, Shiva imbued Yuna's spirit with hers. After that, Yuna turned towards her guardians.

"Uh," asked Rikku, "what did she mean that the time has come?"

"About that," replied Yuna, "I have something to show you, everyone."

Yuna then pulled out the sphere that she kept for 10 years. She played back the recordings before her guardians. The footage of the sphere showed Yuna's sister telling Yuna the bad things Nero did to her as well as when Nero got caught assaulting her sister, prompting him to stab her sister to death before starting to set the house on fire. Soon, Yuna's guardians gaped in awe.

"I get it," exclaimed Patravi, "Nero really _**was**_ bad news all along!"

"In that case," added Auron, "maybe we _**should**_ let Yuna bring Nero to justice."

"But he's Seymour's uncle," protested Wakka.

"If he truly _**is**_ at fault," replied Lulu, "it must be done."

"I can't believe this is happening…" bleated Wakka.

"Nero committed a crime," reminded Kimahri, "Yuna must punish Nero."

Yuna and her guardians emerged from Shiva's chamber and maneuvered along the icy bridge. When they entered the waiting chamber, Nero was standing near the door to the Cloister of Trials.

"NERO," howled Yuna in rage, "YOU WRETCHED ABUSER! How could you _**do**_ this to me, forced to live in training grounds for prostitutes? I searched for solace from pain and you turned me away from the truth!"

"My, my, my," boasted Nero, descending the staircase, "you are one persistent soul, Lady Yuna. You could've been freed of what you fear, you could've forgotten."

"No, I'll _**NEVER**_ abandon the memory of my family!" spat Yuna.

"We all have seen what you've done, Nero," added Auron, "I've seen you turn those unfortunate children into slaves. Sin will _**punish**_ you for that evil!"

"So," taunted Nero, "you fools have sided with _**this**_ preposterous bitch? I can do whatever I please with Yevon on my side. Sin is nothing more than a mere lunatic."

"Hey!" nagged Rikku.

"_**You**_ kids deliberately stain the glory of Yevon," cackled Nero, pointing at Yuna, Rikku and Patravi, "just like all children do. They should _**only**_ be toys for men to lust on."

"You bastard," spat Yuna, "they can't even remember who they are and where they're from! How many innocent lives have you and your puppet twisted into forgetfulness? You may have abused my mind, but you'll _**never**_ destroy me!"

"You could've made a fine toy, Yuna," countered Nero, "Yevon would love to ravish a delusional beauty with no memory of the past and no sense of the future. Your dreams will soon be over, Yuna. Sin will not save you _**this**_ time."

"Not if _**I**_ have something to say about it!" spouted Yuna.

Within an instant, Yuna and her guardians pulled out their weapons and charged at Nero. Lulu summoned an Icicle while Rikku mixed 2 Power Spheres to unleash her Pineapple attack. While Auron leaped up into the air and plunged his blade into the ground, triggering an explosion on Nero, Patravi sped past Nero while slashing her sword at him, and she repeated this method a few more times. At the same time, Nero cast his second level elemental spells at anyone, whether it was Yuna or any of her guardians. After stealing a Turbo Ether from Nero, Rikku went on to using some White Magic spells that Yuna taught her to keep everyone alive. Even Wakka and Kimahri were able to give Nero some good beatings. After a good while of dishing out damaging and receiving some, Yuna pulled out her turquoise blade from her pocket and plunged it straight into Nero's chest. With blood spurting from the stab wound, Nero fell to the floor; ultimately to his death.

"What have I done?" muttered Wakka.

Just then, Seymour Guado came into the chamber from the Cloister of Trials, along with his attendants. Soon, he gaped in horror after getting a glance at the bloody corpse lying before him.

"Uncle Nero!" wailed Seymour, "what happened here?"

"What are you _**talking**_ about?" retorted Patravi, "_**Nero's**_ the one that attacked us first! He's the bad guy!"

Seymour turned to Yuna, with a fierce glare in his eyes.

"You did this?!" bellowed Seymour.

"Yuna," commanded Auron, "send him."

"NO!" protested Seymour, as he ordered the attendants to carry Nero out of the room.

"You will rue the _**very**_ day you took away my mentor," bellowed Seymour, "traitors!"

"_Traitors?"_ thought Yuna.

"Great," grumbled Patravi, "we're finished."

"I know," suggested Rikku, "why don't we just explain to him what happened?"

"It won't be easy," replied Auron, "let's get out of here."

Yuna and her guardians eventually headed for the door that led into the Cloister of Trials. However, they suddenly noticed that the icy tunnel was gone. They had no choice but to solve the Cloister of Trials to get out. After a while of finding a few Macalania Spheres and placing them in certain spots to reassemble the ice, they managed to rebuild the bridge. Then they headed out of the Cloister of Trials into the main hall. Unfortunately, Seymour Guado had Tromell and many more Guado minions blocking their path.

"Please," begged Yuna, "give us a chance to explain!"

"There's no need for it," rejected Seymour, "I already know what I will tell the other maesters; my uncle Nero advised me in the steps to becoming a maester and he was also my father's advisor."

"You're not letting us go?" uttered Patravi.

"I will not let you get away with your crimes," declared Seymour.

"You don't understand," protested Yuna, "Nero has raped and murdered my sister! He set my house on fire to cover his crime; _**he's**_ the traitor!"

Seymour only laughed at Yuna's accusations. Kimahri felt so irritated that he pulled out his spear and swung it at everyone, scaring them out of the way.

"Away!" growled Kimahri.

"Run!" shouted Auron.

Without hesitation, Yuna and her guardians escaped the temple and raced across the icy bridge as Guado minions chased after them. They fought through fiends as they raced through the icy crevasse after making it out of the bridge. When they got to the frozen lake, they were ambushed by a Wendigo along with some Guado minions. Yuna and her guardians were forced to fight back, but they didn't see a few Guado minions subdue Kimahri and drag him away, except for Yuna, but she had no choice but to fight the fiend that was standing in their way. Unfortunately, the Wendigo was too powerful for them to handle, and after it knocked out most of them, Yuna was facing the fiend alone. She eventually summoned Shiva to take down the Wendigo. Suddenly, it smashed the ice on the ground, sending everyone plunging down.

After a while, Yuna regained her consciousness and noticed that she and her guardians are now under the lake; as she wandered to check on her guardians, she sighed in relief that they are still alive, but they're unconscious. She casted a few Cura spells to ensure that they heal efficiently. Suddenly, Yuna felt a rumble from underneath while she felt her chest burning up at the same time.

"_Sin!?"_ thought Yuna.

Yuna nearly passed out as the rumbling got heavier. After what seemed to be an hour, she recovered from the rumbling, only to find that she is now under Sin's mercy, fully awake and focusing his eyes on Yuna.


	12. Chapter 11: A Lustful Encounter

_{This is spoken in Sin's telepathy.}_

Final Fantasy X belongs to Square Enix, not me!

* * *

"You…"

_{So, you have awakened.}_

"Wait," demanded Yuna, "where are my friends?"

_{They are safe,}_ assured Sin, _{for now, I wish to speak with you. How did you end up here underneath the ice? You could've frozen to death.}_

"We were ambushed by a fiend," explained Yuna, "it cracked the ice, which sent us down here."

_{Did anything happen before that?}_

Yuna spent a while explaining to Sin how she came across Nero Guado, who turned out to be Seymour's uncle, and he revealed his plan to turn Yuna into a prostitute. She even told him that she killed Nero, and Seymour called her a traitor.

_{So, Nero is dead?}_

Yuna nodded.

_{Did you send him?}_

Yuna shook her head.

"I didn't get a chance to," explained Yuna in guilt, "Seymour took him away before I could send him, and he took Kimahri."

Sin's eyes soon changed from violet to blue, as it seemed like he was bowing his head in shame.

"Sin?"

_{With Nero remaining unsent,}_ said Sin, worried, _{you are in grave danger.}_

Yuna felt a chill sent down her spine.

_{Allow me to elaborate,}_ explained Sin, _{before your father died, he asked me to protect you. It seemed easier said than done when Nero destroyed the rest of your family. To save your life, I placed a fraction of my soul inside of you. That fragment has protected you since then.}_

"So basically," said Yuna, "I survived because of you?"

Sin nodded.

"But then," fretted Yuna, "I still don't understand, how did my father die?"

_{As far as I've seen,}_ responded Sin, _{Yevon claimed that the Final Summoning holds benefits for Spira. However, the only outcome that I've seen from these rituals is nothing but death. Your father had died from this outcome, along with another guardian who accompanied him.}_

"You mean Sir Jecht?"

There was a moment of silence before Sin nodded. Yuna took in a deep breath, trying to hold in the shock from the revelation.

"Then, if the Final Summoning is a trap," asked Yuna, "should I give up my Pilgrimage?"

_{That decision is up to you,}_ answered Sin, _{in the meantime, you will have to prepare yourself for what Yevon might be scheming in the future. Even with the Infernal Train destroyed, he may still have methods that he can use to destroy you.}_

Without hesitation, Yuna walked up to Sin and embraced to his head.

"Sin," said Yuna, "you said that you placed a piece of your soul inside me, right? Is it possible to do the same with mine vice versa?"

Suddenly, Sin nudged Yuna off of him, and she soon noticed that his eyes turned yellow.

"Sin?"

_{Yuna,}_ warned Sin, _{do you realize what you just told me?}_

Yuna paused, yet couldn't think of a reasonable answer, so she looked up at Sin.

_{Allow me to elaborate,}_ explained Sin, _{I can bind your soul to mine; however, this bond is permanent. I will have to split a fraction of your soul for the bond to take place.}_

"Are you saying that I shouldn't do it?" said Yuna, "that hasn't stopped you from splitting yours, has it?"

_{It was painful but bearable,}_ corrected Sin, _{however, splitting your soul is dangerous, and you could die if the process is messed up.}_

"I don't get it."

_{The pain you will have to experience,}_ continued Sin, _{will be far too much for you, even if you survived, it will scar you for the rest of your life. Are you willing to go through this?}_

Yuna took a while to think about what she is about to go through. While thinking, she remembered one particular teaching of Yevon that is still highly enforced all over Spira; any man who takes the virginity of a maiden automatically makes her his property regardless of the maiden's opinion. Then, she figured that by offering herself to Sin, she can cheat Yevon as she took a deep breath.

"I'll risk it."

_{Very well,}_ acknowledged Sin, _{now, lie down.}_

Yuna complied as she rested on her back. Then, tendrils slithered from Sin's jaws and started caressing her body. She knew that Sin had no harmful intentions; not that he ever had any. She soon allowed him to continue caressing her, and she soon felt pressure inside of her start to build up. After a short while, Yuna slid off the straps of her top, exposing her chest. Already, her face was blushing a deep crimson. She even allowed Sin to use one of his tendrils to remove her underwear.

After what seemed to be hours, Yuna suddenly noticed that a thick tendril was nearby. Of course, it was Sin's, yet it came from somewhere out of his body other than his jaw. As she made a glance at it, she learned that it was as thick as her thigh. But she was getting worried. Surprisingly, Sin stroked her face with his smaller tendrils, and she sighed in relief. As the thick tendril slithered its way to the apex of her legs, another smaller tendril started to burrow into Yuna's chest, which sparked a sharp pain, prompting her to lean forward to rest on his head. Was this the pain of splitting the soul that Sin warned her about? She felt its tip touch the entrance of her sheath for only a brief minute before it wiggled its way inside. Yuna suddenly felt her barrier break; it was painful, but she held back her scream as the tendril slid further inside. To her surprise, Sin paused at momentary intervals. After a little while, Yuna could feel the thick tendril inside her completely, and the pain was starting to subside.

Meanwhile, the burning sensation in her chest was starting to become painful, but she noticed that this pain was even agonizing. Perhaps Sin was using this intimacy to distract her from the worst of the potential pain for soul binding? Throughout what felt like hours, Yuna embraced onto him as the tendril inside her caused her to flinch as the pressure inside her came close to reaching its limit. After several more strokes, the heating pressure brought Yuna to her limit. By then, the pain from splitting her soul had ceased as Sin now had a fraction in his possession. Then, Sin withdrew the tendrils he was using as he gave her some time to recuperate. After that, she crept closer to him.

_{I will protect you, Yuna,}_

Yuna started to doze off as Sin placed one of his arms over her protectively.


	13. Chapter 12: Bikanel Island

_{This is spoken in Sin's telepathy.}_

Final Fantasy X belongs to Square Enix, not me!

* * *

Patravi opened her eyes, only to find that she's lying on a beach in an oasis. For a while, she wondered how she got here. The last thing she remembered was that she plunged far below the ice sheet along with the others. She soon got up to find the others. As she stepped out of the oasis and into the desert, she suddenly came across a giant black bird.

"_Whoa!"_ thought Patravi, _"how can a bird grow so big?"_

Without hesitation, the giant bird attacked Patravi, knocking her off her feet. Then, within a heartbeat, she got back to her feet.

"Ok, you big Bird-Brain," spat Patravi, "you asked for it!"

Patravi pulled out her sword and started to attack the giant bird. However, fighting it was not very easy since the monster was flapping its wings in the air, and it was especially difficult for her to get a good hit. Soon, Yuna arrived as she cast a Thundara spell at the fiend.

"Are you ok?" asked Yuna.

"I'm fine," answered Patravi, "but this guy is not cooperating!"

"In that case, we make it cooperate," suggested Auron, who also arrived into the scene.

By teaming up, Yuna, Auron and Patravi managed to finish off the giant bird.

"Where are the others?" asked Patravi.

"We haven't found them yet," sighed Auron, "we should keep searching."

Auron headed north away from the oasis, prompting Yuna and Patravi to follow. After a while of traversing the desert, they found Wakka, Lulu and Rikku.

"Hey, guys!" chirped Rikku.

"Where's Kimahri?" asked Lulu.

"He still hasn't been found yet," answered Patravi, "But then, how did _**we**_ end up here in this desert? All I can remember is that fiend smashed the ground and we fell through the ice! Shouldn't we be _**dead**_ by now?"

To Patravi's disappointment, no one answered her question. She started to assume that they were just as clueless as she was.

On the other hand, Yuna recalled the encounter she had with Sin, as she was the only one who knew what happened after they fell into the ice.

"We landed on top of Sin," said Yuna, "and he brought us here."

"Really?" chirped Rikku, "so he basically saved our lives?"

Yuna nodded.

"But how could this happen?" complained Wakka, "I've always walked the path of Yevon, but now, I'm a traitor. We _**all**_ are."

"We only did what we had to do," replied Patravi, "not only did Nero rape and murder Yuna's sister, he also murdered Jyscal Guado!"

Everyone except Yuna and Patravi gaped in surprise. Then, Yuna pulled out the sphere from Jyscal.

"Jyscal gave me this when I sent him," she said.

"Well," mused Auron, "_**that**_ doesn't surprise me. I've never trusted Nero. Right now, our immediate concern is Yuna's pilgrimage. Are you willing to go on?"

"Yes," said Yuna, "but I don't think Yevon will allow it."

"The Espers are the ones that give power to the summoners," replied Auron, "not the temples or the teachings. If the temples try to stop us, then we will defy Yevon if we must."

"Dad, are you serious?" exclaimed Patravi.

"I can't believe you said that!" warbled Rikku.

"Sir Auron?" pondered Lulu.

"Count me out," protested Wakka, "we have to atone, to make up for the sins we have committed. Of course, it's not like I ever liked Lord Nero; no way I'll ever forgive him for killing Lord Jyscal and for trying to do us all in too, ya? But still, the bunch of us going against Yevon? No way!"

"Well," added Lulu, "we have transgressed and must face our punishment."

"Ok," said Patravi, "but where are we?"

"We're on Bikanel Island," answered Rikku, "there's a place us Al Bhed call Home near here. But, please do me a favor and don't tell anyone about it, especially not Yevonites? Yevon did something _**really**_ bad to us before."

"So what?" mocked Wakka, "you Al Bhed must've deserved it."

"Oh really?" commented Patravi, "even as a traitor, you are _**still**_ racist?"

"Young lady," barked Auron, "what did I say about snide comments?"

"He started it!" accused Patravi, pointing at Wakka, who gave her the stink-eye.

Rikku soon lead Yuna and her guardians through the desert. Along the way, they encountered some more Zus, like the one Yuna, Auron and Patravi fought. There were also plenty of Alcyones, Sand Wolves, Mushussus and even Sand Worms. After what seemed to be hours, they could see a huge building ahead, although they have to traverse even more desert to reach it. Then again, perhaps traveling long distances is worth it, especially when it also involves fighting through Sandragora sinkholes. After a long while of more traversing, Yuna and her guardians are near the desert base, but they heard sounds of gunshots. Rikku frantically sped down the dune and raced towards the base. Yuna and the others soon followed.

Once they made it to the base, they soon realized that the base has been besieged by not only fiends, but also Ruin creatures.

"Wait a minute," exclaimed Patravi, "I thought we vanquished the Ruin when we destroyed the Train!"

"I don't think the Infernal Train was the source of the Ruin," said Yuna, "they probably originated from something else."

Out of nowhere, an Al Bhed collapsed onto the ground, prompting Rikku to rush to his aid.

"Keyakku," cried Rikku, "who's attacking us?"

"Yevon," muttered Keyakku, "Ruin…"

"Keyakku!" cried Rikku.

Unfortunately, Keyakku has died. Just then, a bald Al Bhed arrived at the scene.

"Is this a war between Yevon and the Al Bhed?" wondered Lulu.

"Or worse…" replied the Al Bhed, "you Rikku's friends? Well, don't just stand there, come on! Let's go kick those Ruin out of our Home!"

"Uncle Cid?" warbled Yuna.

"What?!" exclaimed Wakka, "please tell me you're not one of them, Yuna!"

"No time to waste," interrupted Auron, "let's go!"

Yuna and her guardians then ventured further into the Home and fought through the Ruin creatures along the way. They soon ran into a blonde man that does not seem to resemble an Al Bhed, as he is holding his own against a horde of fiends. They teamed up to take down this horde of fiends.

"Whew," sighed the blonde man, "that was close!"

"You don't look like an Al Bhed," pondered Patravi, "do you?"

"I'm not an Al Bhed," protested the blonde man, "I'm Tidus and I play for the Zanarkand Abes!"

"The what?" warbled Rikku.

"That's impossible," said Lulu, "Zanarkand has been destroyed since a thousand years ago."

"Uh, shouldn't we focus on finding Kimahri right now?" interrupted Patravi.

Just then, a nearby intercom activated, probably by Cid.

"Drec pedac," announced Cid, "Rikku, Oui nayt sa? Oui ku ihtan, duu! E ys majamehk Rusa! Yht dra veaht fedr ed!"

"Uh-oh," stammered Rikku.

"What did he say?" asked Yuna.

"We have to get underground," answered Rikku, "quickly!"

Rikku then led Yuna, her guardians and Tidus deep underground as the vibrations from the surface sent chills down their spines. Of course, they had to fight through a few more hordes of fiends and Ruin creatures. Before long, they made their way into a huge chamber called the Summoner's Sanctum. There, Dona, Isaaru and all of their guardians were there.

"Uh," said Patravi, "I don't see Kimahri anywhere."

Yuna took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier," said Yuna, "but Kimahri's not here. Seymour took him."

"What?" exclaimed Wakka.

"You've got to be kidding me!" crabbed Patravi.

"Aww," commented Dona, "that's a shame."

"Dona, Isaaru," warbled Yuna, "how did you all guys get here?"

"It seems that Yevon has a vendetta against us since you destroyed the Train, Yuna," answered Isaaru, "the Al Bhed brought us here so we can avoid capture."

"Ah," boasted Wakka, "so the Al Bhed _**have**_ been kidnapping summoners."

"Damn it, Wakka," scolded Patravi, "stop acting so racist already!"

"I don't get it," pondered Tidus, "the Al Bhed rescued me when I got washed ashore on their island, and Cid said that he'd help me find my old man."

"You mean like your father?" asked Yuna.

"Yeah," answered Tidus, "that's right. My old man used to be the star player of the Zanarkand Abes. But then he disappeared 10 years ago."

"So, what was your dad's name?" asked Patravi.

"Jecht."

"Wait," paused Auron, "you are the son of Jecht?"

Yuna, Rikku and Patravi gaped in surprise.

"You know my old man?" warbled Tidus.

"He accompanied my father on a Pilgrimage 10 years ago," answered Yuna.

"But wasn't Zanarkand destroyed a thousand years ago?" said Patravi.

"Wait," exclaimed Tidus, "what do you mean a thousand years ago? Zanarkand is still out there! There's no way Zanarkand's in ruins!"

"Then," suggested Yuna, "maybe you should ask Sin. He might help you."

"Sin?" pondered Tidus.

"Sin is our punishment for letting things get out of hand since a thousand years ago," answered Wakka.

"But he also gave us solace from Yevon's oppression and tyranny," added Yuna.

"Ok," interrupted Rikku, "shouldn't we get out of here before Home collapses?"

* * *

"Drec pedac! Rikku, Oui nayt sa? Oui ku ihtan, duu! E ys majamehk Rusa! Yht dra veaht fedr ed!" = "This bites! Rikku! You read me? You go under, too! I am leveling Home! And the fiend with it!"


	14. Chapter 13: The Rescue

_{This is spoken in Sin's telepathy.}_

Final Fantasy X belongs to Square Enix, not me!

* * *

Cid managed to evacuate the survivors, including Yuna and her guardians, aboard the airship that they stored in their hangar. Aboard the bridge, he sent his son, who for some reason is called Brother, to operate at the helm.

"Ec ajanouha uh puynt?" demanded Cid.

"Ajanouha ymeja!" answered another Al Bhed.

"Excuse me, Mr. Cid," interrupted Patravi, "do you have any idea where Kimahri is?"

"Of course not," replied Cid, "that's why we're gonna look, using this airship!"

"Airship?" warbled Wakka.

All of a sudden, the airship began to vibrate. At the same time, the gates opened up as the airship began to rise out of the hangar.

"Vydran," declared Brother, "nayto du ku!"

"Yeehaw," whooped Cid, "a flight one thousand years overdue! Risk big, win big!"

Before long, the airship took off.

"All right," declared Cid, "now we blow up Home."

"What?" warbled Patravi, "are you _**saying**_ that it can't be saved at all?"

"We have no choice," replied Cid, "Nayto? Vena!"

The next thing Yuna knew, the airship launched a volley of missiles at the Al Bhed base, which leveled it completely.

"Hey, look," teased Wakka, "don't get so down. Boom! Like happy festival fireworks, ya?"

"You can cram your happy festival up your ass," barked Rikku, "you big meanie!"

Meanwhile, Yuna turned to Tidus and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Yeah?" said Tidus.

"You said that you were from Zanarkand," replied Yuna, "didn't you?"

Tidus nodded.

"Follow me, then."

Yuna then led Tidus through the airship until they reached the deck. Then she turned to face him.

"I was surprised when I learned that you were the son of Jecht," began Yuna, "I only met him 10 years ago, and he told me that he was from Zanarkand, too. At that time, I thought he was a time traveler."

"Well, we don't have time travel in Zanarkand," replied Tidus, "I can tell you that."

"In that case," continued Yuna, "could it be that there is another Zanarkand out there, I wonder?"

"Yeah," said Tidus, "it's actually called New Zanarkand, but the council there told me that I'm not allowed to tell anyone here of its whereabouts. By the way, um…"

"I'm Yuna."

"Right," continued Tidus, "Yuna, would you mind telling me more about Sin?"

"Well," said Yuna, "Sin came here to Spira a thousand years ago, during the Machina War and put an end to it. But then, Yevon has already risen to power by then, and he alienated Sin from all of Spira. We were afraid of Sin at first, but over a thousand years, he didn't appear as hostile as Yevon claimed it so. Sadly, Yevon still treats him like an abomination today."

"I'll bet Yevon's the abomination," suggested Tidus.

Just then, Patravi came outside onto the deck.

"Guys," exclaimed Patravi, "we found Kimahri!"

"Really? Where?" warbled Yuna.

"Mr. Cid wants you guys to come to the bridge," continued Patravi, "quickly!"

Patravi then led Yuna and Tidus back to the bridge. At that moment, Brother opened up a display screen, which showed Kimahri chained to a pole with Seymour, Nero and what appears to be Maester Kinoc standing nearby, along with some armed Yevonites.

"That's Kimahri?" pondered Tidus.

"Yup," answered Rikku, "I wonder where that place could be?"

"That's the palace of St. Bevelle," added Lulu, "the heart of Yevon."

"Come on, Mr. Cid," requested Patravi, "we should get there as soon as possible! They're going to kill him!"

"Easy, kiddo," objected Cid, "Bevelle's defenses are top-notch."

"Ugh," groaned Patravi, "_**please**_ don't tell me you're a scaredy-cat! Kimahri's there, so we just go get him, right?"

"Heh," mused Cid, "you got guts there, kid! Cad luinca du Bevelle! Vimm cbaat yrayt!"

Within an instant, the airship accelerated.

"It'll take a while to get to Bevelle," said Cid, "until then…"

"We prepare for battle," finished Yuna.

"I thought we took care of Nero in Macalania," objected Rikku.

"Nero is an Unsent now," replied Auron.

"I have a bad feeling about this…" muttered Patravi.

Suddenly, everyone onboard felt the airship shudder. At the same time, Yuna felt that burning sensation spark from her chest. Just then, Rin arrived at the bridge.

"We're being attacked from within," warned Rin, "some of the Ruin that attacked Home must've snuck onboard."

"You mean this place is _**now**_ infested with fiends?!" exclaimed Tidus.

"Great," grumbled Cid, "there's nothing to do but destroy the ship and all go down together!"

"What?" warbled Yuna.

"Dad, are you kidding?" protested Rikku, "if you crash the ship, we'll _**never**_ be able to save Kimahri!"

"I have a better idea," suggested Patravi, "why don't you leave the fiends to us?"

"Well then," acknowledged Cid, "we're counting on you, kids."

Soon, Yuna and her guardians raced throughout the ship and took out as many fiends as they could find. After a long while, they managed to eliminate the majority of the fiend infestation as they rested in the observation deck. While resting, Auron noticed a huge serpent-like fiend hovering in the sky.

"Huh," commented Auron, "now _**there's**_ a rare sight."

"Whoa," exclaimed Tidus, "that's huge!"

"Isn't that Evrae?" assumed Yuna.

"What's an Evrae?" asked Rikku.

"Evrae is the sacred beast; protector of Bevelle," answered Lulu.

"Sounds like the red carpet has teeth," mused Patravi.

"Wait," said Tidus, "does that mean we're close to Bevelle?"

"Exactly," replied Auron, "Evrae is one of Yevon's creations."

"You mean we have to fight it?" asked Yuna.

Auron nodded.

Auron then led Yuna and her guardians up to the deck, where Evrae was waiting for them. Just then, the side gunports open up, ready to fire at anytime.

"Ok, boys," declared Cid over the intercom, "we gotta keep our distance, but we also can't let her get too far away. You'll all have to tell me to move, but quickly! This rig ain't so nimble, you hear?"

"Understood," replied Yuna.

Just then, Evrae swooped in and was now in close contact with the airship. It was about to tear apart the metal, but Yuna, Patravi and Tidus charged at it and swung their blades at the monster. However, the monster then swiped one of its claws, and hit Tidus. To make matters worse, no one paid attention to the fact that it took a deep breath, and before they knew it, it spewed out a musky cloud of poisonous vapor, which poisoned Yuna, Tidus and Patravi. Rikku wasted no time as she used an Al Bhed Potion on the trio.

"Are you guys ok?" shouted Rikku.

Patravi nodded.

Yuna then backed away from the creature while Auron swung his blade, cutting off one of the creature's hands.

"Go back," shouted Tidus, "farther away!"

"Don't be falling now!" replied Cid.

Within an instant, the ship moved further away from the Evrae, as Lulu and Yuna casted Firaga and Thundaga spells at the fiend and Wakka pummeled the monster in the head with his blitzball.

"This is it," declared Cid, "I'm hitting her with all we've got!"

Before long, the airship launched a volley of missiles at Evrae, and exploded on contact. However, it seemed that the monster became very angry and started to charge at the ship. Yuna wasted no time as pulled out the Eyestaff, charged it up, and fired its beam directly into the Evrae's eyes. As a result, Evrae fell down into the clouds as it dissolved into pyreflies. Suddenly, the airship began a huge nosedive deep into the clouds, forcing everyone on the deck to hold on as the airship was apparently losing power. Up ahead, Yuna could see Bevelle.

Unfortunately, the airship was met with volleys of gunshots from the warrior monks and the machina that Bevelle had possessed just as it was hovering over the bridge to the palace. Just then, the airship launched its grappling hooks into the bridge, complete with thick cables.

"Now's our chance!" shouted Auron.

On cue, Yuna and her guardians jumped onto the cables and slid down with determination. Then they jumped off and made a safe landing just before the cables snapped and the airship made a hasty retreat.

"Hang on, Kimahri!" shouted Patravi.

Without hesitation, everyone dashed across the bridge towards the altar, where they were holding Kimahri captive. But then, just when they were close to the base of the stairs, Yuna stopped as she felt the burning sensation in her chest, which led her to hesitate. Tidus then paused at his race.

"Yuna?"

"Something tells me," said Yuna, "that we're being set up."

"Are you sure?" pondered Tidus, "wait, it doesn't look like they're trying to stop us, are they?"

Just then, Tidus and Yuna suddenly heard a scream from Rikku.

"Oh, shit!" exclaimed Tidus in panic, as he then raced up the stairs.

"Tidus, wait!" protested Yuna.

Yuna instantly went after Tidus as they raced up the stairs. But then, after they reached the top…

"My, my," sneered Nero, "for a stubborn summoner, you have nothing but gullible guardians."

Yuna and Tidus then gaped in horror as they realized that the Yevonites are now restraining Patravi, Rikku, Wakka, Lulu and Auron. To make matters worse, guns were pointed at their heads.

"Nero," shouted Yuna, "how could you do this?!"

"This never would've happened if you went to the asylum like a good citizen," sneered Nero, "you shouldn't even exist before Yevon's eyes."

Tidus growled in rage and then started to charge at Nero, but was suddenly stopped by a few more Yevonites, who cocked their guns at both him and Yuna.

"Oh, no you don't," scolded Kinoc, "try anything rash and you will have to say goodbye to your friends."

"Aren't those weapons forbidden by Yevon?" interrogated Auron.

"We have exceptions," remarked Kinoc.

"Wait a minute," spat Patravi, "_**you**_ guys are nothing but hypocrites!"

Nero instantly slapped Patravi in disgust.

"Shut up, you brat," scolded Nero.

Yuna turned her eyes towards Seymour.

"Seymour, why are you siding with him?" fussed Yuna, "he killed your father with his bare hands!"

Nero then cackled in response.

"Don't listen to that bitch, my nephew," hissed Nero, "she is nothing but an abomination, just like Sin."

"Don't you _**dare**_ insult Sin like that!" shouted Yuna.

Yuna wanted to charge at Nero and stab him in the face, but then she remembered that any sudden move she makes would have her precious friends killed. Suddenly, Seymour unlatched Kimahri's bonds and set him free. Yuna even noticed regret in his eyes.

"Seymour," warbled Nero, "what are you doing?"

All of a sudden, Seymour snapped and he grasped Nero's neck tightly.

"You _**dare**_ lie to me," roared Seymour, "you bloody murderer?!"

Seymour's sudden actions have shocked the Yevonites to the point where they loosened their grip. Not surprisingly, Yuna's guardians managed to free themselves and regroup with Yuna.

"Where do you think you're going?" demanded Kinoc.

Yuna and her guardians refused to answer. Instead, Rikku tossed a flash grenade. In a matter of seconds, the flash grenade exploded, leaving Kinoc and the Yevonites blinded as Yuna and her guardians make their escape.

* * *

Here are some more Al Bhed lines:

- "Ec ajanouha uh puynt?" = "Is everyone on board?"  
- "Ajanouha ymeja!" = "Everyone's alive!"  
- "Vydran, nayto du ku!" = "Father, ready to go!"  
- "Nayto? Vena!" = "Ready? Fire!"  
- "Cad luinca du Bevelle! Vimm cbaat yrayt!" = "Set course to Bevelle! Full speed ahead!"


End file.
